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Sacredness of the Durva Grass

The scientific name of the Durva grass is Agrostis linearis.This grass is considered to be very sacred in Hinduism and is associated with Lord Ganesha.The word Durva is derived from the words "duhu" and "avam" which means things which are far away and that which brings it closer. Durva leaves are generally used by the Hindus when they worship Aadi Shiva, Aadi Shakti and Aadi Ganesh. It is believed that the dew drops on the shoots of the Durva grass has the power to attract and enhance the principles of the above mentioned three deities and thereby benefitting the person who is worshipping. Generall the flower bearing Durva grass is not used in poojas for once a flower is produced n a plant then it means that the plant is ripen which decreases the power and potential of the plant. This further reduces its capacity to attract the frequencies of deity principle.

Legends Associated With the Offering of Durva Grass

-There are lots of legends associated with the offering of Durva grass to Lord Ganesha. It is said that an Asura named Analasura tried killing people. He was very strong and used to emit fire from his eyes which was very powerful. Even the Gods did not know what to do with Analasura and they were terrified with him. So finally all the sages along with Gods and people prayed to Lord Ganesha for his help. Lord Ganesha tried fighting with the demon but he had a very tough fight with Analasura for the demon was throwing fireballs from his eyes. Finally after a long fight Lord Ganesha was able to overcome the asura by swallowing up the enemy. But because of the constant heat produced by Analasura, Lord Ganesha was not able to bear the increased heat in his body. He was very restless and tried all means to cool his body. He tried applying sandal paste to the whole of his body. All Gods tried helping out Lord Ganesha but everything was of vain.

The Rain God Showered With Thunders of Rain -

-Lord Varuna, the rain God showered with thunders of rain but is didn't work. Finally few sages came there with a bunch of 21 durva grass and kept it on Ganesha's head, which did wonders and a miracle happened. Lord Ganesha was out of pain and became all right. Ganesha uttered that most of the Gods tried to help but only 'Durva' a simple grass made his agony disappear. With this he announced that whoever with devotion offers me Durva would be pious and get Punya.

There are also other legends associated with the worship of Lord Ganesha with Durva leaves. It once happened that there was a beautiful Apsara who devotionally loved Ganesha and the Lord was also having a liking for the Apsara. She prayed to all Gods to get married to him. But Parvathi, Ganesha's mother was against this and so she cursed the Apsara to become a simple grass form called durva on the earth where nobody would look at her. But the Apsara begged her pardon and so Parvathi forgave her and told her that even though she is in the grass form she would be adored by Ganesha and all his rituals will be conducted using the durva grass.

Ganesha Should be Worshipped with 21 Druva Grass

-The people believe that Ganesha should be worshipped with either three or five leaflets where the middle leaflet attracts the Principle of Primal Ganesh and the other two leaflets attract Primal Shiva and Primal Shakti Principles. But however the minimum number of Durva which should be offered to Ganesha is 21 where they are all tied together and garlanded to the Lord after dipping in water. The offering always begins from the holy feet of Ganesha's idol. When it is offered in such a way the principle of the deity is discharged in larger proportions from the holy feet of the idol.

Durva Grass removes negative energy

Thus the Durva which is offered initially attracts Ganesh Principle in higher proportion which is then further transferred to durva offered later and then slowly spreads to the top of the durva which is offered in an order. Due to this the Chaitanya frequencies are emitted from the idol in higher proportion. So when the process of sequencing durva in this manner takes place, the Ganesh Principle is attracted to the venue of the worship in higher proportion. The Nirgun frequencies of Principles of Deities are attracted in the idol. These frequencies are transformed into Sagun frequencies in Sri Ganesh idol and thus the worshippers of the idol are benefitted in this manner from the frequency emitted. Thus the negative energy not only in the worshipper but also in the surrounding environment is distressed when durva is present.