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[[File:तर्पणम् Tarpanam.jpg|thumb|260x260px|Image of pavitram grass used in a [[tarpana]].]]
{{Short description|Sanskrit terms for Desmostachya bipinnata}}

'''Kusha''' ({{langx|sa|कुश}}), '''darbha''' ({{langx|sa|दर्भ}}) and '''pavitram''' ({{langx|sa|पवित्रम्}}) are the [[Sanskrit]] terms for ''[[Desmostachya bipinnata]]'' grass. This grass is of literary and ritual significance in [[Hinduism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalal |first=Roshen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrk0AwAAQBAJ&dq=kusha+grass&pg=PT711 |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |date=2014-04-18 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-81-8475-277-9 |pages=711 |language=en}}</ref>

In the performance of [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic]] rituals such as the [[Homa (ritual)|homa]] and [[tarpana]], the kusha grass is shaped like a ring and is worn by a [[Hindu priest|priest]] on the ring finger of his right hand.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Prakash |first=Dr Ved |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1rFuEAAAQBAJ&dq=darbha+grass+pavitram&pg=PA417 |title=Significance of Indian Medicinal Plants and Mushrooms |publisher=Krishna Publication House |isbn=978-93-90627-49-3 |pages=417 |language=en}}</ref> The auspicious day for uprooting the sacred grass Kusha is the [[amavasya]] day of [[Bhadra (Hindu calendar)|Bhadrapada]] month in [[Hinduism]] called as [[Kush Amavasya|Kusha Amavasya]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=Kushagrahani Amavasya 2023: कुशग्रहणी अमावस्या पर एकत्र कर लें सालभर की कुश, जानिए तोड़ने का नियम और मंत्र |url=https://www.jansatta.com/religion/kushagrahani-amavasya-2023-date-tithi-know-the-method-of-collecting-kusha-mantra-kush-todne-ke-niyam-kushi-amavasya/3003534/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Jansatta |language=hi}}</ref>

== Literature ==
The [[Rigveda]] prescribes the sprinkling of [[Soma (drink)|soma]] juice upon kusha grass in the performance of a rite.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2021-08-27 |title=Rig Veda 1.28.9 [English translation] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/rig-veda-english-translation/d/doc829213.html |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref>
{{Hindu mythology}}
Chapter 6 of the [[Bhagavad Gita]] contains the prescription to use kusha grass along with deerskin and cloth in the ideal seat of meditation.<ref name="Bhagavad Gita">{{cite web | title=The Bhagavad Gita (Arnold translation)/Chapter 6 | website=Wikisource, the free online library | date=2009-11-28 | url=https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Bhagavad_Gita_(Arnold_translation)/Chapter_6 | access-date=2025-01-08}}</ref>

The [[Garuda Purana]] states that the kusha grass is born of the hair of [[Vishnu]], and that it offers residence to the essence of all three of the [[Trimurti]]. It is among the many substances that is declared to be impossible to become impure despite frequent usage.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shastri |first1=J. L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9pDsDwAAQBAJ&dq=darbha+grass&pg=PA866 |title=The Garuda Purana Part 3: Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology Volume 14 |last2=Bhatt |first2=G. P. |date=2004-01-01 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-3881-9 |pages=866 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Bhagavata Purana]] features a legend from the [[Ramayana|Uttara Kanda]] in which [[Sita]] does not leave behind her son [[Lava (Ramayana)|Lava]] in [[Valmiki|Valmiki's]] hermitage as she usually does while going out. The sage observes the boy's absence, and concludes that some animal had carried him away. Believing that Sita would not be able to bear the loss of her son, Valmiki creates an identical son from kusha grass and places him on Lava's cot. When the bewildered Sita noticed Lava's doppelganger, the sage explains what he had done, and she decides to raise the boy as Lava's twin, and names him [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krishna |first=Nanditha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_xsAwAAQBAJ&dq=kusha+grass&pg=PT202 |title=Sacred Plants of India |date=2014-05-15 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-93-5118-691-5 |pages=202 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Varaha Purana]] describes one of the seven continents of the earth named kushadvipa, surrounded by the [[Kshira Sagara|ocean of milk]] and containing seven mountains.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Books |first=Kausiki |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3FKEAAAQBAJ&dq=kushadvipa&pg=PA87 |title=Varaha Purana Part 2: English Translation only without Slokas |date=2021-10-24 |publisher=Kausiki Books |pages=87 |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Plants in Hinduism]]

Kusha grass - Revision history

BlissKetoSupplement at 05:15, 28 December 2025