Dattatreya

Dattatreya

दत्तात्रेय, dattātreya

Dattatreya is the deity of Hinduism, the embodiment of Trimurti: Brahma, personifying the power of creation (the principle of space), Vishnu, personifying the power of maintaining the universe (the principle of energy transformations) and Shiva, personifying the power of purification for subsequent creation (the principle of time).

Dattatreya was born to saint Atri Muni and his pious consort Anasui.

In “Uddhava-gita” (11th book of “Shrimad Bhagavatam”, dialogue between Krishna and his greatest devotee Uddhava) Dattatreya is described as the Guru of King Yadu, the ancestor of Krishna. Such scriptures as “Tripura-rahasya”, “Avadhuta-gita”, “Jivanmukta-gita”, “Yoga-rahasya” and “Yoga-shastra”, the author of which and several others is considered to be avatar Dattatreya, are among the oldest texts of Hinduism and at the same time vividly reveal the teachings of Brahma-vidya.

Nath tradition played a significant role in the spread of Dattatreya's cult. It was noted that it was through Nathism that Dattatreya was introduced in the texts of the Marathi language group, and was adopted by Mahanubhavas, as well as other religious groups.

Regarding the connection of Dattatreya and Nathism, it can be noted that in “Goraksha-siddhanta-sangraha” Dattatreya is mentioned as one of the twelve "great naths" or "mahanaths": the seventh in a row, Dattatreya is said to have spiritual influence over an area nine crores wide in the western direction, as well as on the western banks of Sarasvati River.

Dwivedi identified one of the later naths named Dattaji directly with Dattatreya himself, obviously considering him as a historical figure who later became deified, although he does not attribute to him the authorship of “Avadhuta-gita”. "Dabistan" by Moshan Fani – after mentioning the ten orders of ascetics of Dashanami following the prescriptions of "Datateri" or Dattatreya – describes the story of how Gorakshanath lost to Dattatreya in a magical duel.

Gorakshanath disappeared under the water, taking the form of a frog, but Dattatreya found him. Then Dattatreya himself disappeared under the water, and Gorakshanath, despite all his efforts, could not find him, "because he merged with water, and water cannot be distinguished from water."

In another legend, Dattatreya taught Gorakshanath a lesson by stopping his bag (jholi) in the air. Gorakshanath possessed great siddhis and, believing that it was beneath his dignity to go from house to house with jholi and beg, decided to use siddhis, guiding them to make the jholi itself move around, asking for food for him. Dattatreya, determined to pacify the pride of Gorakshanath, made his jholi fall. This was followed by a mystical battle in which Gorakshanath was defeated. Having learned this lesson, Gorakshanath humbly asked for spiritual guidance from Dattatreya.

In addition to these episodes, there are also stories (both in Hindi and in folk languages, such as Marathi) in which Dattatreya appears as Gorakshanath's teacher  or another character, but in any case, superior to him. If according to legend it was Shiva who initiated all naths into hatha-yoga practice, then in “Sri Navnath-bhaktikathasar” it is exactly Dattatreya who appeared as Adi-Guru.

Dattatreya's connection with Shankara’s Dashanami order is also clearly traced. In the "Dabistan" of Moshan Fani (1670) it is said that Dashanamis "follow the instructions of Dattatreya, whom they are... revered as a deity... – the incarnation of Narayana, and [who] in holding his breath reached such a level that he was freed from death." Briggs also mentions the Atits (regarded as the fallen Dashanamis) as a class of hermits worshiping Dattatreya. It should also be noted that juna-akhara (one of the seven akharas founded by Dashanami Naga Sannyasins, which was most likely created by Shankara) considers Dattatreya as a patron Deity identified with Rudra-Shiva. This akhara was apparently founded in Shringeri in 1113 CE, and its original devata was Bhairava.

Bhairava's vahana is a dog, Dattatreya is also accompanied by dogs, in addition, there are obvious similarities between the nagas of juna-akhara and nathas, for example, those who are located in the Girnar region. Dattatreya's connection with Shankara and Dashanami order arose under the created image of the first as a divine jnana-yogin. Thus, Dattatreya was recognized by Vedanta in order to maintain the truth of Advaita, as well as to emphasize the superiority of the Dashanami order of ascetics.

The typology of Dattatreya as a "honey bee", which is accepted by various tantric and yogic groups, finds another well-known reflection in his introduction to Aghora sampradaya, where Shiva is the mythical initiator, and Dattatreya is the first teacher (Adi Guru) and Shiva incarnation. Just as in the story of mahanubhavas Dattatreya provides benefits for Shankara, so here he is presented as bestowing the benefits of omniscience to Baba Kinarama, the reformer of the XVII century Aghora sampradaya.