Original text
तुलसी महारानी नमो-नमो, हरि की पटरानी नमो-नमो । धन तुलसी पूरण तप कीनो, शालिग्राम बनी पटरानी । जाके पत्र मंजरी कोमल, श्रीपति कमल चरण लपटानी ॥ तुलसी महारानी नमो-नमो, हरि की पटरानी नमो-नमो । धूप-दीप-नवैद्य आरती, पुष्पन की वर्षा बरसानी । छप्पन भोग छत्तीसों व्यंजन, बिन तुलसी हरि एक ना मानी ॥ तुलसी महारानी नमो-नमो, हरि की पटरानी नमो-नमो । सभी सखी मैया तेरो यश गावें, भक्तिदान दीजै महारानी । नमो-नमो तुलसी महारानी, तुलसी महारानी नमो-नमो ॥ तुलसी महारानी नमो-नमो, हरि की पटरानी नमो-नमो ।
Transliteration
Tulsi Maharani Namo-Namo, Hari Ki Patrani Namo-Namo. Dhan Tulsi Puran Tap Kino, Shaligram Bani Patrani. Jake Patra Manjari Komal, Shripati Kamal Charan Laptani. (Refrain) Dhoop-Deep-Naivedya Aarti, Pushpan Ki Varsha Barsani. Chhappan Bhog Chhattison Vyanjan, Bin Tulsi Hari Ek Na Mani. (Refrain) Sabhi Sakhi Maiya Tero Yash Gaven, Bhaktidaan Dijai Maharani. Namo-Namo Tulsi Maharani, Tulsi Maharani Namo-Namo. (Refrain)
Three stanzas, one idea
This is one of the shortest aartis in daily use, and every line comes back to one idea: Tulsi belongs to Vishnu. The refrain greets her as Tulsi Maharani, Queen Tulsi, and Hari ki patrani, Hari's chief queen. The first stanza explains how she earned the title: blessed Tulsi completed her penance and became the queen of the Shaligram. Her tender leaves and manjari (the small flower spikes) cling to the lotus feet of Shripati, Lakshmi's lord.
That compresses the story told at length in the Tulsi Chalisa: Tulsi, as Vrinda, longed for Vishnu, and through curses and counter-curses he became the Shaligram stone of the Gandaki river while she became the plant that is always offered with him.
Why no offering is complete without her
The second stanza contains the line most people remember: chhappan bhog chhattison vyanjan, bin Tulsi Hari ek na mani, "fifty-six offerings, thirty-six dishes, without Tulsi Hari accepts not one." In Vaishnava homes and temples this is practical instruction. A Tulsi leaf is placed on every plate of bhog offered to Krishna or Vishnu before it becomes prasad, and a leaf is placed in the water of the charanamrit. Without it, the offering is considered incomplete.
The last stanza is the request. All her companions sing her fame, and the singer asks for one gift only, bhaktidaan, the gift of devotion.
When it is sung
In many households the Tulsi plant in the courtyard or on the balcony gets its own small worship every evening. A ghee lamp is lit at its base, water is offered in the morning, people walk around the plant, and this aarti is sung. It is sung most of all through the month of Kartik, when the evening lamp at Tulsi is a daily vow for many women, and at Tulsi Vivah, when the plant is dressed as a bride and married to the Shaligram or to Krishna, usually on Kartik Shukla Ekadashi or Dwadashi, marking the start of the wedding season.
Customs worth knowing
Several household customs go with Tulsi worship. Many families do not pluck Tulsi leaves after sunset, on Ekadashi or on Sunday, and they pick leaves for the day's offering in the morning. Tulsi is not offered to Ganesha, according to a story of a curse between them. A dried Tulsi leaf can still be offered to Vishnu, so leaves gathered earlier are kept for days when fresh ones cannot be picked. These rules vary by family and region, but the evening lamp and this aarti are nearly universal.
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