Shaligram

[2][3][4] The Kali Gandaki river flows through sacred places such as Muktinath and Damodar Kunda, enhancing the spiritual significance of these shaligrams.

A king named Vrishadhvaja had been cursed by Surya to endure poverty, due to his reluctance to worship any deity other than Shiva.

An unembodied voice told Shiva that by the boon of Brahma, Shankhachuda was invincible in combat as long as he wore his armour, and his wife's chastity was not violated.

Vishnu consoled Tulasi by stating that it was the result of her austerities performed in the past in order to gain him as her husband, and that she would again become his wife upon casting off her body.

Vishnu, on being cursed by Tulasi, assumed the form of a large rocky mountain known as shaligrama, on the banks of the Gandaki river where vajrakita, a type of worm having teeth as strong as the vajra, carved out various markings on his body.

The Puranas unequivocally state that worship of Vishnu done through a shaligrama shila yields greater merit than that done through a murti (idol).

Hindus hailing from South India bedeck idols of Vishnu with a garland made of 108 shaligrama shilas.

Bengali Hindus observe a ceremony called Svastyayana in which 108 or 1008 tulasi leaves anointed with sandalwood paste are offered on a shaligrama shila with the aim of healing diseases or being delivered from troubles.

[12] The Shaligram Pooja Vidhi, a reverent process of worshipping Lord Vishnu, unfolds through a series of sacred steps designed to honor this divine manifestation.

Gently bathe the Shaligram in water or milk, symbolizing purification, then dry it and adorn with a clean cloth and sandalwood paste.