Why does Lord Ganesha like ‘Durva’ or ‘Dubo’? Know its importance.
The indulgence of Modak and Laddu is very dear to Lord Ganesha. Apart from this, offering ‘Durva’ to Ganesha is also very important. It is said that by offering Durva to Ganesha in Ganesha worship, Ganesha is pleased and the devotee receives his special grace.
Let me tell you that ‘Durva’ is a type of grass which is also called ‘Doob’, in Sanskrit it is known as Durva, Amrita, Ananta, Gauri, Mahoushadhi, Shataparva, Bhargavi etc. ‘Durva’ has many important medicinal properties. Its scientific name is Cyanodan dectilan. It is believed that when the nectar-urn came out of the sea during the churning of the sea, the demons snatched it from the gods to get it, so that a few drops of nectar fell on the earth, which gave rise to this special grass ‘Durva’.
There is a story in the Puranas about why Durva is very dear to Ganesh ji, according to which there used to be a huge monster named Analasur in the eternal times, from whose wrath there was a commotion in the heavens and the earth. All the gods, sages, human beings were terrified by this monster. This monster swallowed humans alive on earth.
Fed up with this giant monster, once all the deities including Devraj Indra and sage-sage Mahadev reached the shelter of Shivaji and prayed to liberate us from the terror of this monster. Mahadev said that only Vidhanharta Ganesh can do this work, you should go to his shelter. Receiving Mahadev’s order, all the deities and prominent sages approached Lord Ganesha and begged Ganapati Bappa to liberate them from the wrath of Anlasur.
Ganesha decided to wage war with Analasura to alleviate the plight of gods, sages and creatures on earth. While fighting a fierce battle with the great monster Analasur, Ganesh ji punished Analasur for what he did and swallowed him. After going into Ganesh ji’s stomach, intense fire came out from the mouth of this monster which made Ganesh’s stomach very irritated. To soothe the burning sensation of Ganapati’s stomach, sage Kashyap made 21 bales of Durva and gave it to Ganesh to eat. As soon as he ate ‘Durva’, the burning sensation of Ganesha’s stomach subsided and Ganesha was pleased, after which all the deities, sages, including all the inhabitants of the earth, cheered Ganesha. It is said that from then on, the tradition of offering Durva to Lord Ganesha started.
In Ganesh Pujan, offer Durva to Ganesha by chanting the mantra ‘Idam Durvadalam Un Gan Ganpatiye Namah’.
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