Dattatreya is the God who is an
incarnation of the Divine Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva .
The word Datta means "Given", Datta is
called so because the divine trinity have "given" themselves in the
form of a son to the sage couple Guru Atri and Mata Anusuya . He is the son of
Guru Atri, hence the name "Atreya ."
In other regions, and some versions of
texts such as Garuda Purana, Brahma Purana and Sattvata
Samhita, he is an avatar of Lord Vishnu only Several Upanishads are
dedicated to him, as are texts of the Vedanta-Yoga tradition in
Hinduism.
One of the most important texts of
Hinduism, namely Avadhuta Gita (literally, "song of the free
soul") is attributed to Dattatreya.
Over time, Dattatreya has inspired many monastic
movements in Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism, particularly in the Deccan
region of India, south India, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himalayan
regions where Shiva tradition has been strong. His pursuit of simple life,
kindness to all, sharing of his knowledge and the meaning of life during his
travels is reverentially mentioned in the poems by Tukaram, a saint-poet of
the Bhakti movement.
Datta Jayanti,
also known as Dattatreya Jayanti, is a Hindu festival,
commemorating the birth day celebration of the Hindu god Dattatreya (Datta),
a combined form of the Hindu male divine trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
It is celebrated on the full moon day
of the Margashirsha (Agrahayana) month according to the Hindu Calendar (December/January)
throughout the country, and in particular in Maharashtra.
Legend
Dattatreya was the son of the sage Atri and his
wife Anasuya.
Anasuya, an archetypal chaste and virtuous wife, did severe Tapas (austerities)
to beget a son equal in merits as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the Hindu male
trinity (Trimurti). Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati,
the goddess trinity (Tridevi) and consorts of the male trinity, became jealous.
They deputed their husbands to test her virtuousness.
The three gods appeared before Anasuya in the
disguise of sanyasis (ascetics)
and asked her to give them alms naked. Anasuya was perplexed for a while, but
soon regained composure. She uttered a mantra and
sprinkled water on the three mendicants, turning them into babies. She then
breast fed them with her milk naked, as they wished. When Atri returned to
his ashram (hermitage),
Anasuya narrated the event, which he already knew through his psychic powers.
He hugged the three babies to his heart, transforming them into a single baby
with three heads and six arms.
As the triad of gods did not return, their
wives got worried and rushed to Anasuya. The goddesses begged her forgiveness
and requested her to return their husbands. Anasuya accepted their request. The
Trimurti then appeared in their true form, before Atri and Anasuya, and blessed
them with a son Dattatreya.
Though Dattatreya is considered a form of all
the three deities, he is especially considered an avatar of
Vishnu, while his siblings the moon-god Chandra and
the sage Durvasa are
regarded forms of Brahma and Shiva respectively.
Worship
On Datta Jayanti, people take bath early in the morning
in holy rivers or streams, and observe fast. A puja of
Dattatreya is performed with flowers, incense, lamps, and camphor. Devotees
meditate on his image and pray to Dattatreya with a vow to follow in his
footsteps. They remember Dattatreya's work and read the sacred books Avadhuta Gita and Jivanmukta Gita, which
contain the god's discourse. Other sacred texts like the Datta
Prabodh (1860) by Kavadi Baba and the Datta Mahatmya by
Param Pujya Vasudevananda Saraswati (Tembe Swami Maharaj), both of which are
based on Dattatreya's life, as well as the Guru-charita based
on the life of Narasimha Saraswati (1378−1458),
considered an avatar of Dattatreya, are read by devotees. Bhajans (devotional
songs) are also sung on this day.
Datta Jayanti is celebrated with much fanfare
in the god's temples. The temples dedicated to Dattatreya are located
throughout India, the most important places of his worship are in Karnataka,
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat like
Ganagapur in Karnataka near Gulbarga,
Narasimha Wadi in the Kolhapur
district, Pithapuram in Andhra Pradesh near Kakinada,
Audumbar in Sangli district, Ruibhar in Osmanabad district and Girnar in Saurashtra.
Some temples like Manik Prabhu Temple, Manik Nagar host
an annual 7-day festival in honour of the deity in this period. In this temple,
Datta Jayanti is celebrated for 5 days from Ekadasi to Poornima. People from
Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana come here to have darshan of the deity. The
saint Manik Prabhu, who is also regarded as an
incarnation of Dattatreya by the people of Datta Sampraday, was born on Datta
Jayanti.
Datta Jayanti was celebrated by Sadguru Shree Aniruddha Upasana Trust (Mumbai, India) in Amalner city in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, India between 30 November to 3 December 2017 wherein thousands of devotees from various parts of Maharashtra participated and took blessings of Lord Dattatreya. Shri Ganpati Atharvashirsha, Lalita Ambika Poojan, Datta Bawani, and Shri Datta Sahastranaam were chanted in this four-day event. With the spirit of self-discipline, the foundation managed the event in peace and harmony.