578 GRAM IN EM. 



rise to the proverbial expression '^ Ddb ki nal '^ (the sheath of 

 the Dub) as applied to family connections, so called from their 

 tendency to spread far and wide like the Ddb. Like other 

 useful plants this grass was deified by the Hindus ; in the 

 Athavva-Veda it is thus addressed — *' May Ddrva which rose 

 from the water of life, which has a hundred roots and a 

 hundred stems, efface a hundred of my sins, and prolong my 

 existence on earth a hundred years," The Hindus believe that 

 a benevolent Apsaras or nymph dwells in the plant, and when 



V 



they build a house they place the grass on the four corners of 

 the foundations. This practice dates from Vedic times. 



Durva is also spoken of as Durveshtaka, from its being used 

 in erecting an altar; it is sacred to Vishnu and Ganesha, and a 

 festival called the Ddrvashtarai is held in its honour on the 

 eighth day of the light half of the month Bhadra ; at this 

 festival the male worshippers wear the grass tied to the right 

 arm, and the females tied to the left. At marriages the right 

 arm of the bridegroom is tied to the left arm of the bride with 

 Durva ; it is a phallic emblem, like the fetu or straw was in 

 Europe. In the third act of the Vikramorvasi of K^lidasa, 

 XJrvasi shows herself to Pururavas with her hair decked with 

 Durva, a symbol that she accepts his love. De Gubernatis 

 says : — " A Pdsaro, le jeune paysan, lorsqu'il desire demand er 

 en mariage la jeune fiUe qu'il aime, ote du pailler un fetu de 

 paille et, en le lui montrant, lui demande si elle veut entrer 

 dans sa maison/' According to Asvalayana and Narayana, the 

 husband^ in the third month of his young wife's pregnancy, 

 should squeeze the juice of the Durva into her right nostril to 

 secure a male child ; this practice is still customary in Western 

 India and probably elsewhere. Ddrva is one of the eight 

 ingredients of the Arghya, a respectful oblation made to gods 

 and venerable men. The popular version of the Ramayan 

 mentions the eight ingredients in the following couplet : 



Dahi, Ddrba» rocbaa, phal mula 

 Nav tulsi da), mangal niula, 



i.e., curdled milk, durba, rochan, flowers and roots, young leaves 

 of the Tulsi and Lotus, turmeric. 



