“Sarva Aparaadha Naashaaya
Sarva Paapa Haraaya Cha |
Deva Devaaya Devaaya
Sri Dattatreya Namosthuthe ||”
This is a sloka or hymn in praise of Sri Dattatreya, the meaning of which is as follows:
“I bow to the One who destroys Karma,
The One who destroys all sins
To the God of all Gods
I bow to you, Sri Guru Dattatreya!
Hi Viewer,
Welcome to my blog on Lord Dattatreya.
Hindu mythology contains few stories on how the Trinity gods manifested themselves in different forms. Apart from such individual manifestations by each of the Trinities, such as Dasavatharam by Lord Vishnu, the three gods sometimes manifested in merged versions. All three of them merged together and formed the ruling deity, Thanumaalayan at ..... temple near Kanyakumari (Thanu= Brahma, Maal= Vishnu and Ayan is Shiva. Vishnu and Shiva combined to form Hariharan and even had an offspring, Lord Iyyappan. Again, Shiva and Parvathi merged to form Ardhanareeshwaran. All these mergers happen due to some triggers, to install unity among the shivite/vishnavite/ Shakti devotees and to make the point even more clearly understood.
In this type of merged manifestations, yet another version is that of Lord Dattatreya, a form in which all three of the Trinity gods merged together. The trigger point here is the make it known to the world and high light the devotion of wife towards her husband. The name “Dattatreya” is derived from two Sanskrit words, Datta (which means “given”) and Atreya (which refers to the sage Atri, who was also Datta’s biological father).
The story goes like this:
Atri was a saint and Anasuya was his devoted wife. And in the Indian tradition, there were some very, very powerful women who attained their superior power by just devotedly serving their husbands. Anasuya was one of them, Savitri was another. The story goes that the demi-gods became jealous of Anasuya's spiritual powers and they wanted to test her. So they approached the trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to come to Earth and test this lady’s power.
The Trinities, with a view to teach a lesson to the Demi-gods, agreed and came down to earth as three wandering monks. In our tradition, if anybody visits home and asks for alms, they must be given food. When Anasuya was at home alone and when Atri had gone to the river to have a bath, the three monks came, asking for food. They told her they were hungry and asked her to serve us some food. She had not prepared any food in the house at that time. She requested them to wait, so that she can prepare and offer them. They accepted and said, ”But we have one condition. You should serve us food completely naked, without any clothes on.”
In our tradition, if a saint asks for something, it is not a good idea to deny it. It is inauspicious to say ‘no’. At the same time it is not acceptable to serve them naked. So she thought about it for few minutes. First she has to give them food, and second she has to obey their condition, to serve it naked. She went inside, took some water in her hand, brought it and sprinkled on them. The same moment the three monks turned into babies. She fed them with some breast milk, in naked condition. She them turned them back into their original forms. As all the conditions were fulfilled, they were very happy and were ready to grant her a boon.
She said, ”I would like to have you as my son.” They blessed her accordingly and they entered her womb, together as one entity. When Atri came back, he understood what happened and he was very happy. Atri said, this son will lead the world one day. Datta was thus born. Lord Dattatreya’s birthday is celebrated in a big way as Dattatreya Jayanti. On Full moon day in Margashirsha (Margazhi) month.
In the 'Nath' tradition of Hinduism, Dattatreya is considered to be an avatar or reincarnation of Lord Shiva and is revered as the Adi-Guru or the First Teacher of the Adinath Sampradaya of the Nath sect of followers. Dattatreya first emerged as a teacher of Yoga, with clear Tantric traits. But later, he was accepted and absorbed into many other cults and sects, even including the more conventional Vaishnavism. He is also considered more of a God today, than a teacher. Today, this deity is worshiped by a multitude of Hindus from all walks of life, spanning the entire globe.
Dattatreya is regarded as one of the most ancient deities. Datta is believed to be the author of the Tripura Rahasya, a treatise on Advaita Vedanta, which was given to Parashurama. In the epic Mahabharata, he is listed as a great sage. In later texts, such as the Markandeya Purana, he is depicted as a powerful practitioner and teacher of yoga. The earliest references to him can be found as far back as in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Dattatreya Upanishad, which is part of the Atharva Veda, describes him as variously taking the form of a child, a madman and even a demon, in order to help his followers attain moksha (liberation) from the material world. Interestingly, the Dattatreya Upanishad first introduces him as being one with Vishnu and ends with the mantra, “Om Namah Shivaya”, thereby also identifying him with Shiva.
According to the Nath Sampradaya, the Avadhuta Gita is a work compiled from the words uttered by Dattatreya, which had been transcribed by his two disciples, Swami and Kartika. Even greats like Swami Vivekananda are said to have held this book in high esteem. Some of the ideas in this treatise is similar to Shaivite philosophy, Vaishnavite Agamas and Buddhist Tantra as well.
Young Datta left his home at a very tender age, to roam in search of the Absolute One. He wandered around Gujarat, Maharashtra, North Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. He is believed to have attained enlightenment in a town in Karnataka, known as Ganagapura. It is also said that his original footprints can still be seen in a lonely peak at Girnar. Even the treatise Tripura Rahasya refers to Parashurama finding Dattatreya meditating on a peak on the Gandha Madana Mountain.
Shri Dattatreya is portrayed in different ways in different traditions among the Hindus. However, the most commonly portrayed image is having six hands; the lowest two hands holding a Mala (garland) and a Kamandalu (water pot). The middle two hands are shown holding the Damaru and Soola of Shiva and the upper two hands bearing the sacred Shankha (Conch) and Chakra (Discus). Some portraits also show him holding the Gada (Mace). He is also shown as accompanied by 4 dogs representing the four Vedas of knowledge and also a cow. The 3 heads of Shri Guru Datta are said to embody his identity as the Devas of the Trinity, namely, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. As directed by his mother, Datta used to appear as a single headed monk to others.
According to Dattatreya, he learnt the secret to a happy, content life from his surroundings. He listed out his 24 elemental gurus and the specific lessons he had picked up from them. Nature — earth, air, sky, water, fire, ocean, moon, and the sun — constituted the first set of gurus.
Mother Earth, who supports all life unconditionally, teaches us forgiveness and patience. The importance of detachment from worldly disturbances can be learnt from the boundless sky and free-flowing air. Water imparts the lesson of purity as it cleanses everything that it comes in contact with. The all-consuming fire teaches us that like itself, knowledge cannot be suppressed or contaminated. The ocean teahes us stability. No matter how much water flows into the ocean, it remains stable, just how our emotions must always remain balanced and stable.
The next are the celestial gurus, the sun and moon. Despite waxing and waning, the moon is still the same. This teaches us that bodily changes must not affect our true selves. The sun evaporates water from land, but returns it later as rain. This teaches a sage to accept worldly things without getting attached to them.
Dattatreya was a keen observer of the lives of creatures around him. One day, while a pigeon couple was out seeking food, a hunter trapped their infants in his net. Heartbroken, they also entrapped themselves to be with their babies. This example taught him that worldly attachments cause bondage.
In another incident, a raven was attacked by other birds for its food. Tired, the raven dropped its food for peace. This taught him that mental peace is more valuable than worldly possessions.
The reptiles, the python and the snake, were also his gurus. A python eats whatever it finds and is always content and the snake seeks shelter wherever it can find. Likewise, a sage must seek refuge in temples built by others and accept life without chasing luxuries.
An elephant is trapped by the scent of a mate, the deer is lured with music and the fish can be caught with bait. This teaches us the pitfalls of uncontrolled desires and sensual distractions.
The spider that creates and destroys its own web teaches us that our world is temporary. Meanwhile, a moth who falls into a gleaming fire teaches us to be wary of attractions.
Dattatreya observed that the honeybees collect only enough nectar and then spread pollen from one flower to another. This taught him to learn what we need from others and share it generously.
Dattatreya asks us to learn from a child to be innocent and free of worries. We also learn from a beekeeper that just as he takes away the bee’s honey, man has no ownership over anything after death.
He also learnt a lesson about abandoning desires for enlightenment from the life of the dancing girl, Pingala, who reformed after attaining spiritual awakening.
Another lesson was taught by a young maiden who was grinding rice for her guests. She was working in secret but her bangles kept making a clinking sound. She then broke them to get rid of the sound. This taught him that a sage must live in solitude to avoid clashes from too many voices and opinions.
Lastly, Dattatreya learnt the importance of focus from the archer. He once observed an archer so focused on his target that he paid no heed to a king’s procession. This taught Dattatreya the importance of total concentration in spiritual practice. Follwoing are the Principal Tenets of the DattatreyaTradition:
1. Unity In the fundamental Datta Tradition scripture, Avadhuta Gita, Lord Datta has consistently affirmed that the nature of Reality, and everything that appears within it, is 'One'. This means that all sentient and insentient beings are primordially unified in their essence.
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