Upanishads · Gaṇapati 13.1
॥
Devanāgarī
यो दूर्वाङ्कुरैर्यजति । स वैश्रवणोपमो भवति । यो लाजैर्यजति । स यशोवान् भवति । स मेधावान् भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
yo dūrvāṅkurairyajati | sa vaiśravaṇopamo bhavati | yo lājairyajati | sa yaśovān bhavati | sa medhāvān bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यः दूर्वा-अङ्कुरैः यजतिyaḥ dūrvā-aṅkuraiḥ yajatiwhoever sacrifices with shoots of dūrvā grass
सः वैश्रवण-उपमः भवतिsaḥ vaiśravaṇa-upamaḥ bhavatibecomes like Vaiśravaṇa
यः लाजैः यजतिyaḥ lājaiḥ yajatiwhoever sacrifices with roasted grain
सः यशोवान् भवतिsaḥ yaśovān bhavatibecomes renowned
सः मेधावान् भवतिsaḥ medhāvān bhavatibecomes wise
Translation
Whoever sacrifices with shoots of dūrvā grass becomes like Vaiśravaṇa; whoever sacrifices with roasted grain becomes renowned, becomes wise.
Version
5a75345a2f1f · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A list of offerings begins, and it is worth noting at once what they consist of. Dūrvā is a grass — ordinary Bermuda grass, growing underfoot throughout India; lāja is roasted grain, cheap village fare. That is, for grass is promised the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa, the keeper of treasures.
This disproportion is deliberate and is, to my mind, the best thing in this part. The offering is chosen so that no one is excluded: grass is under everyone's window, and a handful of roasted grain belongs even to a beggar. We have met this several times already, and every time at a decisive point. The Bhāvana-upaniṣad listed leaves and water; the Bhasma-jābāla added "or anything else"; the Gītā says: "a leaf, a flower, a fruit, water — whoever offers with devotion, that I accept" (9.26).
This regularity deserves to be stated as a rule. Every ritual teaching, on reaching the question "then what should be offered?", sooner or later names the cheapest thing — and explains that the point is not the object. The reason is not condescension toward the poor, but the very nature of the matter. If the offering worked by its price, then the rich would be closer to God than the poor — and no book ventures to say that.
The Vaiṣṇava side draws the direct consequence and states it in the very same verse of the Gītā. What decides is bhaktyā, "with devotion" — the word stands twice in the verse; and the object is named only to show that it can be anything.