Why Ganesha Loves Dhurva Grass

The first and main offering for Lord Ganesha is the Dhurva grass. The grass grows wild all over India, and is rarely used for anything else. Why then is it so important for Ganesha? Read this story to find out!

 

A depiction of the story of Dhurva at a pandal last year

There once lived a demon named Analasura, whose evil acts had the Gods worried.
Ganesha decided to rid the world of such an evil asura, and headed off to do battle. The battle raged on and on, and there seemed no way that the demon could be defeated. Finally, Ganesha made himself huge, and swallowed the demon!

While the gods cheered, the presence of the demon inside ganesha’s stomach was creating problems. The evil inside burned until even Ganesha could not bear it. he writhed in agony at the heat inside his stomach!

The gods rushed to cool him in whatever manner they knew. They first poured water, but it didn’t seem to make any difference. They brought more items, such as milk, curds, sandal paste, and even turmeric – all considered cooling and remedial, and bathed him with them, but to no avail. They then tried flowers of every kind, but that didn’t seem to work either. In some stories, it is even mentioned that it was then that Shiva offered him the moon (thus giving him the name Bhalachandra), Vishnu his lotus (making him Padmapani), and Brahma his daughters – Sidddhi and Buddhi (whom he married), but none were able to cool him down!

At last, the wise sages arrived, bringing with them the simple blades of grass called Dhurva. As they rained the grass on Ganesha, the demon inside got digested, and the fire cooled at last. Ganesha was pleased and declared that the sacred Dhurva grass would be his favourite item of prayer, and anyone who offered him Dhurva would be blessed.

The word Dhurva is combination of two words – Dhur – that which is afar; and Ava – that which pulls closer. Thus, the word, Dhurva itself signifies that when we offer the Lord this grass, it pulls us closer to Him. Another significance of this offering is the fact that Dhurva is easily accessible. It grows anywhere and everywhere, so it can be obtained easily. It shows that the Lord does not need expensive flowers and items to be satisfied. Even the blade of grass which is otherwise useless is pleasing to him.