Mudgalapurana 5.27: dūrvotpattikathanaṃ nāma saptaviṃśatitamo'dhyāyaḥ

Salutation to the glorious Gaṇeśa.

Dakṣa said:
Relate the joy-giving deed of the dūrvā grass, O Mudgala.
Ah, there is nothing as purifying as the śamī along with the mandāra!

Mudgala said:
Formerly, in the beginning, Brahmā, the lord of the gods, having created the moving and unmoving,
became filled with intense anxiety for their food.

The great-grandfather remained meditating on the divine Gajānana.
From his pores a single goddess indeed emerged and shone forth.

He beheld her: hands and feet on every side, thousand-faced, supreme,
resplendent with all her thousand limbs.

Then Brahmā, the bearer of all, became exceedingly rejoiced,
knowing her to be the embodiment of food, the nourisher of all.

Bowing to that creator, she stood with folded palms:
"Give the command, O creator of the world, what shall I do, O grandfather?"

Brahmā said:
"You shall become the food of all, named Dūrvā.
Perform austerities and then produce all food in accordance with the proper order."

Saying "So be it," having bowed to him, she performed supreme austerities,
meditating in her heart on Gaṇeśa, endowed with fasting.

Through the repetition of the single-syllable mantra, after a thousand celestial years,
the elephant-faced one, the bestower of boons, went to her.

Seeing him, she rose up at once, bowed down, and worshipped [him];
with folded hands she praised the god with the Atharvaśiras.

Gaṇeśa said to her: "You shall always produce
creation of diverse kinds, O highly fortunate one, and you will be worshipped by all."

Having spoken thus, the Gaṇādhīśa vanished.
She too, filled with joy, directed her mind to create.

From the region of her head indeed emerged the manifold, great food of heaven;
by that, the dwellers of heaven enjoy the diverse savours.

From her belly, O creator, emerged the manifold food
of those situated on the earth; by that very [food] the dwellers of earth enjoy the diverse savours.

From her two feet came forth the supreme, manifold food
of the dwellers of the netherworld; by that, those who have gone there daily consume the six savours.

From the forms of her limbs and minor limbs, O lord, the goddess created various food;
by that, all living creatures became satisfied.

Beholding the people pleased and nourished, Brahmā experienced great satisfaction.
Approaching her, he performed her consecration with mantras through the twice-born.

Consecrated long ago by Brahmā into sovereignty over all foods,
that goddess Dūrvā shone, revered by all, especially so.

Possessed of royal splendour, the goddess became filled with pride;
she forgot the recitation and mantra of Gaṇeśa, O Prajāpati.

Then, troubled by obstacles, she especially engaged in rivalry
with Pārvatī out of constant elation: "I am respectfully Annapūrṇā;

the Mother of the Universe is so because of being filled with food for all,
[and] that is I, existing in the form of food; she takes pride in vain!"

Perceiving her conduct, she who consists of the universe became filled with wrath;
bearing that wickedness, she stood by the side of Śiva.

Once in the mansion of the Moon a great festival took place;
there all the gods and others came along with their wives.

There Dūrvā, haughty with pride, reviled the Mother of the Universe:
"In vain has she become celebrated by the name 'Mother of the Universe'!"

With such diverse words she reviled the Mother of the Universe;
then, filled with wrath, Pārvatī cursed her:

Pārvatī said:
"You issued from the pores of my skin, without a doubt;
in vain do you compete with me, wicked one! Fall down in the form of grass!"

Section 5, Chapter 27, Page 60
She became the form of grass upon the earth, O Prajāpati.
From that time forward, this most purifying dūrvā grass is revered by all.

Then, filled with extreme sorrow, she remembered the elephant-faced one:
"O lord, forgive my fault committed by abandoning the mantra!"

Having gone into the middle of the forest, Dūrvā performed supreme austerities,
intent upon the repetition of the mantra, meditating on the divine Lord of Obstacles.

When a full hundred years had passed, Gajānana became pleased;
he who is fond of devotion came to grant a boon to her who was established in devotion.

Seeing that the king of the Gaṇas had arrived, she bowed with devotion;
rejoiced, having worshipped, she praised him with folded hands, O creator.

Dūrvā said:
Praise be to you, O Gaṇeśa; praise to you, O lord of obstacles, / destroyer of obstacles for your devotees, but terror-inspiring to non-devotees!

Praise to the infinite, the unmeasurable, and the bearer of manifold divine play; / praise to Heramba, worthy of worship by the great lords, praise to you!

Worthy of all worship, worshipped prior to all, having the nature of Brahman, / having the form of Brahman, O Lord of all, praise to the Lord of Brahman!

Formless, yet possessing embodied forms, having the nature of Brahman, / bestower of peace from [all] peaces, praise, praise to you, the supreme Lord!

To Lambodara, whose mount is the lord of thieves, the supreme Self, / the four-armed, the mother and father of all, praise, praise!

To the Jyeṣṭharāja of the elders, the bestower of the pre-eminent state, / to Mahodara, the complete, the full bliss, praise to you!

To you who dwell in Svānanda, consisting of perfection and intellect, / O Lord of perfection and intellect, O Master, Lord of devotees, praise, praise!

How can I praise you, O Gaṇādhīśa, before whom even the Vedas were bewildered? / Therefore, I only bow down to you; be pleased by that, O Lord!

Having thus praised Gaṇeśa, endowed with devotion she danced. / The king of Gaṇas, filled with joy, spoke to Dūrvā:

The venerable Gaṇeśa said:
This hymn of praise composed by you shall bring tolerance of offences. / Whoever praises me with it, O Dūrvā, I forgive their offence.

Whatever desire one contemplates, that I will always grant. / This hymn of praise will bestow enjoyment and liberation, granting true perfection.

Choose a boon; pleased by your devotion, I shall grant what is in your heart, / even though, O goddess, I was angry with you when you abandoned my mantra.

Hearing him, filled with fear, Dūrvā with tearful eyes / lovingly spoke this excellent word to Lambodara, O Prajāpati.

Dūrvā said:
If you are a giver of boons, O Lord, then grant me your excellent, / firm devotion, O Gaṇādhyakṣa, by which everything becomes auspicious.

Moreover, filled with pride, O Gajānana, I rivalled the Mother of the Universe, / though being merely a portion of her part, and was cursed by her most dreadfully:

‘You shall assume the form of grass and fall upon the surface of the earth.’ / For that reason I have approached you; protect me from this great fear!

The venerable Gajānana said:
Do not worry in vain, O Dūrvā, who have come to me for refuge. / I will make everything auspicious; I shall be bound [by your love].

By a portion [of yourself] you will become grass upon the earth's surface, / [while] as a goddess possessing a body you shall wander in heaven as before.

Upon the earth, taking the form of grass, bearing the form of nectar, / having a hundred roots, sprouting from the stem, and bearing a hundred shoots,

honoured by all, worshipped by all, always dear to gods and others,

[khaṇḍa 5, adhyāya 27, page 61] you will become, without doubt, by my boon, O sovereign of food.

Declared to be the bestower of great auspiciousness, increasing my love, / you shall indeed be the bestower of good fortune and auspiciousness to the worlds.

With your leaf, humans on earth shall worship the guardian deities; / among leaves, none will become equal to you in bestowing religious merit.

And whatever incarnations of the Śakti there are, such as Lakṣmī, Lalitikā, and others, / you shall be especially dear to them, O most auspicious one.

You were cursed by the mountain's daughter; she will never touch you, / [yet] elsewhere you will be treated with honour, there is no doubt.

Devotion to me will become exceedingly firm in you; / you will have your mind fixed on me, your life-breath dedicated to me, O Dūrvā.

Since you desire devotion to me, therefore, greatly pleased, / I shall always make it, O goddess, an increaser of my delight.

If humans worship me without the dūrvā leaf, O goddess, / to them no fruit of that worship shall accrue.

Nothing in worship shall be as exceedingly dear to me as dūrvā; / without dūrvā, I shall constantly remain fasting.

Those humans who worship having abandoned the dūrvā blade / are deemed my constant enemies; let them cook in hells.

By whom a dūrvā leaf is offered in worship, O wise one, / by him this boundless all has been especially given to me.

Satisfied by a dūrvā leaf, I shall grant all my sovereign power; / even that, O wise woman, cannot equal dūrvā.

Those who are my devotees must always perform worship of me / accompanied by dūrvā, O goddess; I am won over, of this there is no doubt.

Having spoken thus, the lord Gaṇeśa vanished, O Prajāpati. / Filled with joy, Dūrvā worshipped the supreme Vighneśa.

Just as told by Lambodara, humans, / the lords of the gods, and others then acted accordingly, except Pārvatī.

She became the form of all-auspiciousness, destroying sin; / by Gaṇeśa's boon, she likewise became a Gāṇapatya.

All this excellent greatness of Dūrvā has been related to you; / to one who listens or reads, it shall grant enjoyment and liberation.

Om tat sat. Thus ends the twenty-seventh chapter, named ‘The Account of the Origin of Dūrvā’, in the story of Lambodara, in the fifth section of the venerable Maudgala Mahāpurāṇa, the final Purāṇic Upanisad.