A Vaishnava legend relates Tulsi to the Samudra Manthana, the churning of the cosmic ocean by the gods and asuras (demons). At the end of the churning, Dhanvantari rose from the ocean with Amrita (the elixir of immortality). Vishnu procured it for the gods, when the demons tried to steal it. Vishnu shed happy tears, the first of which fell in Amrita and formed Tulsi.