Kusha Grass

Kusha grass, Desmostachya bipinnata, is commonly known as halfa grass, big cordgrass and salt reed-grass, and is called darbha or kuśa in Sanskrit. It is a tall, tufted, leafy, perennial Old World grass that branches from the base and grows from a stout creeping rootstock. It is native to northern and north-eastern tropical Africa, the Middle East and temperate and tropical Asia, and is a weed in wheat crops. The page says Hindus, Jains and Buddhists have long used it as a very sacred plant. According to early Buddhist accounts it was the material the Buddha used for his meditation seat when he reached enlightenment. It is mentioned in the Rig Veda for sacred ceremonies, and Krishna recommends it in the Bhagavad Gita as part of the ideal meditation seat. In folk medicine it has treated dysentery and menorrhagia, and it is used as livestock fodder.