In this episode, I will be narrating the life story and advent about the ‘Param Guru or the Supreme Master,’ Lord Dattatreya.

In the timeless beginning, there was no earth, sky, planet, no universe or being. It was all an infinite expanse of water. Lord Narayana was resting on the infinite expanse of water (the ocean of milk). That primal water itself was the God. Out of the water was born Hiranyagarbha and out of Hiranyagarbha emerged Bramanda split into two; one became the sky and the other the earth. The Lord then began his creation, and Brahma was born from the lotus of the Lord’s navel. He entrusted Brahmaji with the task of creating both animate and inanimate beings. Brahma, out of his Manas, created the seven sages known as ‘Manasa Putras.’ Atri Rishi was one of those seven sons of Brahmaji.

Atri Rishi practised severe penance for a countless number of years and attained Brahma-Jnana. Atri means one who has transcended the Gunas or modes of material nature – Sattva (Goodness), Rajas (Action), and Tamas (Ignorance). These three are the cause of our birth and death and condition the soul. Therefore, one who is above the three qualities of material nature alone can be the true devotee of the Lord Almighty.

Later, at the insistence of Bramha, he married Anusuya, the daughter of Kardama Prajapati.
Anusuya was the embodiment of perfection and was entirely blemishless and as her name itself indicates. She had no malice against anyone and had overwhelming and motherly love for all beings. She was an embodiment of chastity. She is reckoned foremost amongst the Pativratas, who worshipped and considered her husband alone as God. Her fame and glory spread far and wide, all over the three worlds.

Indra, the Lord of Heaven, felt all his power waning out into insignificance like that of an oil lamp before the dazzling and splendorous sunshine of the rising glory and powers of Anusuya and was afraid of losing his supremacy. So he approached the three trinities – Bramha, Vishnu, and Maheshwara and implored them to arrest the ever-increasing powers and glory of Anusuya by casting a blemish on her chastity. Indra said Anusuya’s name and fame had been already outshining and eclipsing that of the three divine consorts, Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Parvati, who were till then ranked as the foremost amongst the women in all the three worlds.

The gods wanted to put Anusuya’s purity and power to the test. So they transformed themselves into mendicants and approached the hermitage of Atri Rishi. They begged for alms. At that time, Atri Rishi had gone to the river for his daily oblations. Anusuya came out and welcomed them and extended hospitality to them. They made a strange request that the food prepared be served to them by Anusuya without wearing any garment. Anusuya, though perplexed at such a weird, embarrassing and impossible condition, thought for a while as to what she should do. ‘Atithis (guests) cannot be turned away under any circumstances; Atithis are aspects of God himself.’ She thought. Praying to her husband, it flashed in her mind, ‘If only the guests were her babies and she their mother, she could feed them without donning a garment.’ Her thoughts of a pure and chaste mind instantly became a reality; the elderly guests turned into babies. She then fed them with all the motherly solicitude and love, sang lullabies for them and put them to sleep in a cradle.

When sage Atri returned home, to his amazement, he found Anusuya fondling the three babies and singing to them lullabies on Upanishadic truths. Anusuya offered the children at the feet of her husband and said, ‘These children are the gift (datta) of God to us.’ Atri Rishi was overwhelmed with joy. Atri Rishi, through his divine vision, realised who the children really were. He prayed to the trinity gods – it is all your inscrutable divine play. Thou the infinite beings chose to become babies in our humble home who have been childless and praying to you in our hearts. Tears of joy started welling out from the eyes of the sages bathing the babies.

The babies now assumed their real forms and made their appearances before the couple, as the Trinity Gods – Bhrama, Vishnu, and Maheshwara and blessed the couple to ask any boons they wished. The couple prayed, “Let the joy you gave us as babies in our home become a permanent and lasting reality. Make this humble cottage of ours your own home. The gods blessed the couple and fulfilled their wishes. Thus, to Anusuya, Bramha was born as Chandra, Vishnu as Datta and Maheshwara as Durvasa. The children grew up under the fondling care of their parents.

At the age of eight, after seeking permission from their parents to leave home, Chandra made way to his abode while Durvasa to his penance and pilgrimages. Chandra and Durvasa merged their divine selves and power in their brother Datta before leaving home. Thus, in Datta were merged all the divine aspects and powers of the great Trinity, which became symbolised in his three faces and six hands and because of which, he came to be known as Lord Dattatreya (Datta Thraya), the name also means – ‘the one who gifted himself as son of Atri.’

From his early years, Dattatreya took to the task of redemption of the world as the ‘Supreme Guru or Master’ and Protector. He is the Purna Jnanavatar (Full Knowledge Form), incarnated to dispel the darkness of ignorance in the world and bestow spiritual knowledge and wisdom to all the aspirants. Lord Dattatreya’s birthplace is in the Gandhamadana mountains in the Himalayan range. Dattatreya is an ‘Avaduta’ who is an eternally free being and wanders around in this universe. Lord Dattatreya is represented by four dogs, depicting four Vedas and a cow (Kamadhenu), the wish-fulfilling cow.

Lord Dattatreya is famous in the ancient Hindu scriptures. He started with nothing and without teachers, yet reached self-awareness by observing nature during his Sannyasi wanderings and treating these natural observations as his twenty-four teachers, imparted in the ‘Guru Charitra.’ Lord Dattatreya, the Supreme Master, had been Guru to Brahma, Parashurama, Prahlada, Kings Yadu, Alarka, Kartaveeryaarjuna and carved out a stupendously marvellous Guru sampradaya (lineage) and Guru parampara (succession) throughout all the ages. The Tripura-Rahasya meaning, ‘The Mystery Beyond the Trinity,’ is an ancient literary work in Sanskrit that was taught to his disciple Parashuram, The Secret of the Supreme Goddess.

The other significant incarnations of Lord Dattatreya was:

  • Sripada Sri Vallabha
  • Sri Narasimha Saraswati
  • Manik Prabhu
  • Swami Samarth of Akkalkot
  • Saibaba of Shirdi

Lastly, it gives me immense pleasure to share with you all that my beloved “Krsna Guruji” is Lord Dattatreya’s disciple and gives me a great joy to hail from his lineage of Nath Sampraday. By the grace of Lord Dattatreya and my Krsna Guruji, I had the privilege to experience him in reality. I am humbled beyond.

With the Grace of my KrsnaGuruji, I have been able to pen this most wonderful introduction of the Sages, Saints, Guru and Incarnations, in a string of words. Thank you for reading, and do watch out for my next blog about “The story of the great Guru of Shivaji Maharaj – Samarth Ramdas.’