Dūrvā
Dūrvā, “the sacred grass”
Grammar: feminine noun, the name of a grass.
Meaning: the sacred dūrvā grass, whose blades, sprouts, stalks and roots are used in pūjā, in homa, in the śānti rites and in remedies.
In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa names dūrvā in some thirty chapters.
In the pūjā. Water with four things, lotuses, śyāmāka millet, dūrvā blades and the herb vishṇukrāntā, is called pādya, the water for washing the feet (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 34). Round the vessel of the rite, in the north-west, sandal, water, akshata, curd and dūrvā are placed in a leaf-cup with the kavaca mantra (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 35). For the abhisheka, the south kalaśa holds lotus, gorocanā, dūrvā, darbha, jātī and kunda flowers, sandal, red sandal, white mustard, tagara and rice grains; the pādya vessel in the south holds lotuses, śyāmālatā, dūrvā leaves, vishṇukrāntā and kuśa, and the nīrājana vessel in the south-east dūrvā and akshata (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 57). Dūrvā and akshata are scattered on the limbs of Mahāvishṇu (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 58). In the north-west navaka of kalaśas, eight hold the divine herbs: sahadevī, kumārī, siṃhī, vyāghrī, amṛtā, vishṇuparṇī, dūrvā and vacā (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 69).
Kuśa, sprouts of dūrvā, yava, milk and water together make the viśeshārghya, the special arghya, and with that water all the materials of the rite are purified. Dūrvā is one of the vikira substances, scattered after being consecrated seven times with the astra-mantra, with lāja, candana, mustard, bhasma, akshata and kuśa (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 81). At the vishuvat (equinox) and other yogas, one who bathes Śrī Mahāvishṇu with dūrvā mixed with ghee gains everything (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 199). To Ambikā, the mother of Vināyaka, an añjali full of dūrvā blades, white mustard and flowers is offered with the prayer: “O Devī, ever saubhāgyavatī, give me beauty, fame, good fortune, a son, wealth and all desires” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 266).
The samidh of Rāhu. In the graha-yajña the samidhs for the grahas are, in order: arka for Sūrya, palāśa for Candra, khadira for Kuja, apāmārga for Budha, pippala for Bṛhaspati, udumbara for Śukra, śamī for Śani, dūrvā for Rāhu and kuśa for Ketu; they are offered with honey, ghee and curd (Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 164, 167).
Homa of dūrvā. In the homa for a desired fruit, dūrvā is offered for the destruction of disease (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 81). In the homa with the Gāyatrī, dūrvā is offered for health and to calm great portents (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 215). Homa of dūrvā destroys disease; dūrvā homa with “tanūnapād agne ‘si” removes dangers; homa of dūrvā stalks with “kāṇḍāt kāṇḍāt” makes a mahāmārī (pestilence) in a village or a country subside, and frees the diseased from disease and the sorrowful from sorrow; and dūrvā homa with “imā rudrāya” destroys all diseases (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 260). One who offers dūrvā dipped in the three sweets with the Gāyatrī mantra becomes free of disease (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 280). Homa with dūrvā gives long life (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 306). In the rite of Trailokya-mohana Vishṇu, three lakh japas of the mantra and a lakh of homas with lotuses, bilva leaves, ghee, rice, sandal and dūrvā give long life (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 307). One who seeks śānti offers homa of dūrvā (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 308). Homa of dūrvā, akshata and ājya destroys all diseases (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 321). With the mantra “Oṃ hrūṃ haṃsaḥ”, a lakh of dūrvā homas gives śānti and pushṭi (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 323). In the pūjā of Mṛtyuñjaya, after ten thousand japas of the mantra, homa is done with milk, dūrvā, ājya, amṛta, punarnavā, pāyasa and puroḍāśa (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 326).
The maṇi of dūrvā root. Of the three highest śāntis, for the Amṛtā śānti a maṇi (amulet) of dūrvā root is worn, prepared with the mantras of its devatās (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 263).
A tilaka and an omen. Rocanā, red sandal, turmeric, manaḥśilā, priyaṅgu, mustard, mohinī, dūrvā, vishṇukrāntā, sahadevā and śikhā, ground in citron juice and placed on the forehead as a tilaka, subdue even the devatās with Indra, let alone men (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 123). Dūrvā grass is among the auspicious sights at the time of setting out (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 230).
In remedies. Ghee prepared with dūrvā is good for nose disease (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 279), and dūrvā juice given as nasya stops bleeding from the nose (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 283). Dūrvā removes pitta, and a horse that eats dūrvā gets no diseases of vāta, pitta and kapha nor sannipāta diseases (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 289). Among the yogas for a son, the roots of aśvattha, bamboo, darbha, Vaishṇavī, Śrī, dūrvā and aśvagandhā are drunk with milk by the woman who desires a son (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 302).
Related terms: Kuśa · Darbha · Pādya · Arghya · Samidh · Homa · Rāhu
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 34–35, 57–58, 69, 81, 123, 164, 167, 199, 215, 230, 260, 263, 266, 279–280, 283, 289, 302, 306–308, 321, 323, 326