5/5 archit e. 6 years ago on Google
Dattatreya
is
a
saint
well
known
in
Puranas.
He
was
the
son
of
Anasuya
and
Maharshi
Atri.
The
name ‘Dattaterya’
can
be
divided
into
two
words-
‘Datta’
and
‘Atreya’,
where
the
former
means
given
(by Vishnu)
and
the
latter
refers
to
Sage
Atri,
His
father.
He
is
considered
to
be
the
incarnation
of
the
Trinity- Brahma,
Vishnu
and
Siva
–
a
Trimurti
Avatar.
There
are
many
stories
related
to
the
birth
of
Dattatreya.
Dattatreya
is
said
to
be
born
in Mahur,
Maharashtra.
One
story
says
that
the
Goddesses
Saraswathi, Lakshmi
and
Parvati
wanted
to
test
the
chastity
of
Anasuya,
who
was
reputed
to
be
the
epitome
of
chastity.
So,
they
sent
their
husbands
Brahma,
Vishnu
and
Siva,
who
asked
Anasuya
to
serve
them
food
in
her
nude
form.
Anasuya
made
the
Trinity
take
the
forms
of
small
babies
and
then
fed
them with
no
clothes
on
her
body.
It
is
said
that
Maharshi
Atri,
seeing
this,
invoked
the
spiritual
powers
and transformed
the
three
babies
into
a
three-headed
baby,
who
was
named
Dattatreya.
Another
story
says that
Dattatyreya
was
born
of
triplets
as
a
result
of
immaculate
conception.
Later
on,
they
were
born
as one
baby
to
Atri
and
Anasuya.
Lord
Dattatreya
is
represented
as
having
three
faces,
one
of
Lord
Brahma,
the
second
of
Lord
Vishnu and
the
third
of
Lord
Siva.
He
has
six
hands.
The
three
right
hands
hold
a
trident,
a
rosary
and
a
lotus flower
whereas
the
three
left
hands
have
s
discuss,
a
conch
and
a
water
pot.
The
three
heads
from
the same
trunk
signify
the
powers
of
creation,
preservation
and
destruction.
It
signifies
the
intimate
unity
of everything.

The
four
dogs
in
the
Dattatreya
iconography
represent
the
four
Vedas.
The
cow
that
is
seen
in
the
picture
is
Mother
Earth,
who
has
taken
refuge
in
Dattaterya.
Mother
Earth
is
supposed
to
be
under
His
protection. Various
sects
of
believers
worship
Dattatreya
differently.
In
the
Nath
tradition,
Dattatreya
is
recognized as
the
incarnation
of
Siva
and
as
the
Aadi
Guru
of
the
Adinath
Sampradaya
of
the
Naths.
He
has
also been
adopted
by
the
Vaishnavaites
and
worshipped
by
them.
The
Philosophy
propounded
by
Lord
Dattatreya
is
found
in
the
‘Avadhuta
Gita’
and
the
‘Jeevanmukta
Gita’.
Avadhuta
Gita is
a
Vedantic
text
expounding
non-dualism.
Jeevanmukta
Gita
gives
the
characteristics
of
a
liberated
soul in
23
verses.
Dattatreya
is
also
the
teacher
who
reveals
of
the
secret
of
life
to
sage
Parasurama
in
‘Tripura
Rahasya’,
an
ancient
treatise
on
Vedanta.
Lord
Dattatreya
has
been
mentioned
in
several
Upanishads
too.
Dattatreya,
in
the
eleventh
book
of
Srimad
Bhagavatha,
tells
during
his
conversation
with
King
Yadu, that
he
is
a
student
of
the
Earth,
ocean,
fire,
air,
space,
sun,
moon,
honey
bees,
fish,
vultures
etc.
The Earth,
he
says,
has
taught
him
the
lesson
of
immense
patience,
the
ocean
has
taught
him
dignity
and fixity,
fire
has
taught
him
purity,
air
has
taught
him
freedom
and
the
space
has
taught
that
a
person owns
everything,
and
yet
nothing.
Similarly,
he
lists
his
24
Gurus
and
considers
himself
a
simple
student
of
the
whole
creation.
Since
ancient
times
Dattatreya
is
considered
to
be
the
presiding
deity
for
the
path
of
yoga.
The
seekers
of
Truth
are
initiated
by
the
grace
of
Dattatreya
who
remains
invisible
and
hidden.
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