Three important Vedic grasses / Origin / Festival / More

Grass is lowest among 84 lakhs of Yonis/Species. The Quality of Grass is it is Egoless. The Grass can be mould the way one wishes. walk on grass which is good for our Health

http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/rawdataupload/upload/insa/INSA_1/20005abf_286.pdf 

Stories concerning the origin of three Kusha / Durva / Darbha

1. Equated with the hairs on the body of Lord Varaha the Boar avatara of Vishnu which fell down while fighting hiranyaksha. 
2. Produced from the churning of the ocean of milk form the top of Lord kurma the Tortoise Avatara of Vishnu while his body was used as base for churning. 
3. Said to have fallen to Earth from the pot of Amrita which was carried by lord dhanavantri – the medicine Avatara of Vishnu after churning of the ocean of milk. 

Brahma resides at the roots of kusa, Kesava in the centre and Sankara in the tip; and Other Gods in the four directions

http://vedabase.net/d/darbha 

1. For ceremonies related to death, only one Darbha leaf is used. http://garudainfo.blogspot.in/2012/09/darbha-grass-and-sesame-seeds.html
2. For auspicious and daily rituals, a ring made of two leaves is used; 
3. For Amavasya Tharpanam, Pithra Puja — a three-leaf Darbha ring is used. 
4. For temple prayers and puja, a four-leaf Darbha ring is used. 

In Buddhism

1. The grass is equally sacred for Buddhists. Sakyamuni Buddha is believed to have sat on a mat made of Darbha grass when he got enlightened under the Bodhi tree. 
2. Kalachakra initiation(Dhyan Yoga):In the Pali tradition, after accepting a dish of food from a woman, Shakyamuni, on his way to sit in determined meditation, meets with Sottiya the grass-cutter, who offers him eight handfuls of kusa grass to make a seat. He arranges it with its roots facing towards the trunk, before taking his place under the Bodhi Tree. As part of the fifth step in preparation for receiving the Kalachakra Initiation, participants receive two pieces of kusha: The long and short pieces of grass are of the nature of pristine awareness and on the conventional level represent clear dreams. The disciples should imagine the kusha grass as having the quality of producing undistorted thoughts. The longer kusha grass is to be placed under the mattress and the shorter under the pillow. These two pieces of kusha grass should be received with folded hands. 
3. Since kusha grass is a purifying substance, through the power of mantras and seed syllables said over it, it purifies inauspicious dreams, performs the activity of removing distorted conceptions, brings clarity to the minds of disciples and has the potential to induce clear dreams indicating whether or not someone has the propensity to receive the initiation. 
4. The name of Kushinagara, the ancient capital of the Malla kingdom, where the Buddha was cremated, is believed to be derived from Darbha’s other name, Kusha — ‘the city of Kusha grass’. It is worshiped on ashtami in the month Bhadrapada (August-September).

 USE of DARBHAI other than as PAVITRAM: 

1. It serves as a connecting link between husband and wife duringa ritual when they do sankalpa (take a resolve to do the karma). The wife touches her husband with darbhai grass. 
2. At the time of temple consecration (kumbabhishekam) the kalasa is connected to the idol and the tower with a rope made of darbha grass (Nadisandama). 
3. Darbhai is believed to protect food prepared during an eclipse. 
4. Darbhai is a must in all homas (in places like Paristheeriya, paatra sadhana, ayaamita, aajya samskara, etc.) Along with the mango leaves and coconut, a koorcham made of darbhai is also placed in the kalasa where avahana is performed for devas. 
5. A belt made of darbhai grass is tied around the waist of the brahmachari during upanayana, and around the waist of the bride in a marriage. 
6. For brahmavarana (the selection of a vidwans or scholar) in homas, darbhai is used. A small clutch of darbhai is handed over to the acharya to whom power of attorney is given by the karta with a request that the acharya may perform the proposed japa or homa on his behalf. 

Do's and don'ts : 

1. The tip of the darbhai should be intact. The grass leaf without the tip is useless. 
2. When we take darbhai from a bundle, we have to do it from the lower/root side and not from the top. 
3. When we set it down, care must be taken to see that its tip faces east or north. 
4. The darbhai should not be placed on bare earth. Darbhai cannot be reused; or and if it is trampled it should not be used again. 
5. Darbhai grass should not be cut with our nails.

Tharpanam

http://www.agasthiar.org/a/tharpanam.htm

boys

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