Kusha grass and the serpent's toungues

[Guest guest]

Dear spiritual brothers and sisters,

The sanctity of kusha (or, kusa) grass is

as old as the Indian gods. Puranas tell how Vishnu assumed the form

of the Cosmic Tortoise (Skt. kurma) whose shell served to support

Mandara, the mountain that served as a dasher in the Churning of the

Sea of Milk. As the mountain rotated, several hairs were rubbed from

the tortoise's back. With time, they washed ashore and became Kusha.

 

Later, when the amrita was obtained and distributed among the gods,

some drops fell on the grass which further sanctified it imbuing it

with healing properties. Therefore, in the tradition hair-cutting

of Vaishnava toddlers, the hair is touched with kusha before it is

cut.

 

It was used as a ritual seat as far back as the Vedas, and the Gita

(ch. 6) stipulates that, covered with a skin and a cloth, it is the

appropriate seat for meditation.

 

Kusha, whose name signifies sharp in the sense of acute, is the root

for the Sanskrit word for "expert," kosala. That is because the

edges of the long leaves that grow in pairs along the tall stems are

very sharp, so like the sword, it is used as a symbol for

discernment or "discriminating wisdom."

 

It grows beside brackish (salty) water such as found at the mouths

of rivers and is a kind of tussock grass; that is, it grows in

clumps. When it is dry, kusa straw is called durva or dharbai.

However, some say these are two different species: Kusha is Poa

cynosuroides and Durva, Agrostis linearis.

 

Next question is What is Darbha grass?

 

This plant is the same as Kusha or Munja also called panic grass and

belongs

to the genus borage. It is found in damp marshy and low-lying areas.

Brahmins

always keep some in their houses and it is used for purification in

all kinds

of ceremonies. It grows to a height of about two feet and is thinly

pointed

at the top. It is extemely rough to touch, and if rubbed the wrong

way, it

may cut through the skin. The word Kusha is related to the Sanskrit

Kushala

meaning sharp in the sense of keen intelligence (because of the

sharp tips of

the grass). The brahmacarin who used to fetch this grass for the

guru was

also known as kushala (expert). It is used to make Pavitra rings for

wearing

during puja, Kurcas to use in kumbha pujas or for purifying

different objects

by touching or sprinkling liquids, making ropes which are used to

encircle

objects like deities or brahmacarins, making mats to sit on during

pujas or

meditation, and laying around and lighting the sacrificial fire

(yajna) in

the ceremony called Kushandika. It is also ground up and the essence

used for

Kusha oil (to be used in Summer for it's cooling effects) and Kusha

flavored

sarbat also drunk for it's cooling effects. Darbha Grass is

identified with

Lord Visnu and is believed to possess the power to purify anything.

It is

worshipped on Darbhashtami in the month Bhadrapada (August-

September).

 

Stories concerning the origin of Darbha/Kusha:

 

1. Said to have been produced from the churning of the ocean of milk.

2. Said to have fallen to Earth from the pot of Amrita (which was

produced

from the churning of the ocean of milk.)

3. Equated with the hairs on the body of Lord Varaha (the Boar)

avatara of

Visnu. (see Bhagavata Purana 3.13.35)

 

As for how to get seeds, I don't know. I usually get a supply of

Darbha

pre-cut (some pre-made into pavitras and kurcas) from a guy who

sells it like

that at Vaikuntha Ekadasi festival in Shri Rangam.

 

This brings up the following points:

1. How important are ingredients like Darbha?

2. What to use as a sustitute if none is available?

 

Personnally I believe that it's "the thought that counts", and we

should not

allow the non-availability of a particular samagri (darbha, etc) to

stop us

from performing particular functions/duties .Another myth explains

that when the pot of Amrita was set on the sacred grass, the

children of Kadru (Garuda's stepmother) were determined to get some

of the elixir. Ever-watchful Garuda, to prevent their attaining

immortality, quickly snatched it away. The snakes ended up licking

the the leaves in hopes that some drops had fallen there, but they

were so sharp that the poor serpents' tongues were sliced in two.

 

It is also classified as Desmostachya bipinnata. In the USA, it is

known as Big cordgrass or Salt reed-grass, and in Australia, as

Halfa grass

service of God. Also I

have a pavitra ring made of gold which I often use.

 

 

Kalachakra initiation: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. 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.

So much for kusha the sacred grass of India.Hope you

folks find my postings interesting.

Yours yogically,

Dattu