Vrinda, daughter of asura king Kalanemi of Mathura, was a devotee of Lord Vishnu since her childhood. She was a yogi, pure and chaste. She prayed to be married to Lord Vishnu and was blessed that she will first have to marry an asura and then she will be with Him. She married another asura king Jalandhar.
Eons ago, Lord Shiva once got angry with Indra and opened his third eye to destroy him. Guru Brihaspati apologized and sought forgiveness for Indra. Lord Shiva agreed and redirected the taapa to the ocean. A boy, Jalandhar was born from the waters of the ocean. Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu, too was born out of sagar manthan and she considered Jalandhar as her brother.
Jalandhar worshiped Lord Shiva. Pleased with his devotion, Lord Shiva gave him a boon of being invincible till he drew his strength from the purity and chastity of his wife, Vrinda.
Having been born to the ocean, Jalandhar raised claims to everything that came from the ocean. He claimed all the treasures that came out of sagar manthan. This put him to stand against the devas every now and then. His victories, one after another, soon made him the conqueror of the three worlds. Lord Vishnu wanted to help the devas but would not kill Jalandhar as he has promised his wife, Goddess Lakshmi, to never kill her brother. When Jalandhar went for the wars, Vrinda would stay put in prayers.
Devas, being thrown out of their heavens, went to Lord Shiva for rescue. Lord Shiva challenged Jalandhar for a fight but could not defeat him because of the boon He had given him earlier. Devas went to Lord Vishnu for a way out to help defeat Jalandhar. Lord Vishnu was initially unwilling as Vrinda was His ardent devotee, and any action will do injustice to her.
The devas hatched a plan and sent celestial bard Narad to Jalandhar. Narad narrated the beauty of Kailasha, the abode of Shiva. If one has not conquered Kailasha, they have not conquered anything. Jalandhar could change form. He took the form of Shiva and visited the mountain to see Kailash for himself. Goddess Parvati, consort of Shiva, saw through the disguise and chased him away when he tried to enter their home. She got angry and went to Lord Vishnu to complain and asked him to trick Vrinda the same way Jalandhar tried to trick her. For the greater good, Lord Vishnu agreed on the trickery.
While Jalandhar was in the duel with Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu took the form of Jalandhar and came to Vrinda. The wife, happy to see her husband return, went to greet him. She touched the feet of Lord Vishnu, unaware of the disguise. They engaged in activities that only married couples do. The moment she was with another man, her chastity was shattered, and Jalandhar became vulnerable. Lord Shiva immediately seized the moment, raised his trident, and cut the asura’s head. Jalandhar’s severed head fell in the courtyard of Vrinda. She realized she was not with her husband.
Lord Vishnu took to his original form. Vrinda, being tricked by her own Lord, in rage cursed Him to turn into a stone. Stone is heartless and that is how the Lord has behaved. The Lord accepted the curse and transformed himself into the Shaligrama stone which is found near the Gandaka river in modern-day Nepal.
The world immediately became unbalanced. Goddess Lakshmi and all the Gods prayed to Vrinda to release the Lord of her curse. She accepted their request and released him of it.
Lord Vishnu also gave a boon to Vrinda that she will be reincarnated as Tulsi, she will be one with the Lord, worshiped along with Him and no offering to the Lord be accepted without her.
Vrinda died by emulating herself in her husband’s pyre. From the ashes, grew the Tulsi plant.
Tulsi vivah, the ceremonial marriage between the Tulsi plant (holy basil) and Lord Vishnu is held between Ekadashi (eleventh day) and Purnima (full moon night) of Karthik month.
In Ramayana, king Rama (incarnation of Lord Vishnu) was married to Sita (incarnation of Vrinda or Tulsi, born from the earth). Soon after marriage, they went into vanvaas. While in exile, Ravana, an asura king, abducted Sita. Even on return to Rama, after the victory over Ravana, they could not lead a blissful married life. They soon were separated never to be one again.
In Bhagavada, Radha is an incarnation of Vrinda or Tulsi. Krishna (incarnation of Lord Vishnu) was born in Mathura. Radha and Krishna were inseparable in their childhood and growing up years at Gokul. Yet, they were not destined to be one. Krishna went away to Dwarka and Radha was left behind and forgotten or ever mentioned.
These two mentions are said to be the effect of the curse Vrinda gave to Lord Vishnu. Although Vrinda released the Lord of the curse to be a stone, once a curse is given it cannot be taken back in absolute but modified. This is karma, of which even gods are not spared.
There are two types of Tulsi plant, one with a darker blackish colour leaves is called Shyam Tulsi or Krishna Tulsi. The other with green colour leaves is called Ram Tulsi.
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These narrations are from various stories that were narrated to me and some that were read in various publications watched on television and the internet over time.