Shri Gurudev Datta · Three gods in one · The first of gurus
Dattatreya
Lord Dattatreya, called Datta, is Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva in one, the son of the sage Atri and Anasuya, and the first guru of the Datta tradition. Chant his name, learn from his twenty-four gurus, and see when Datta Jayanti falls in your city.
- His day
- Thursday
- Next: Thu 5 Nov
- Next Dattatreya day
- Datta Jayanti
- In 52 days · Wed 23 Dec
His days, in your city
Dates and puja times for the city you pick
For New Delhi
His birthday, on the full moon of Margashirsha, kept at dusk, the hour of his birth, with a fast through the day and the Guru Charitra read in the week before.
- Every Thursday
- Thu 5 NovHis day of the week
Chant his name
दिगंबरा दिगंबरा
श्रीपाद वल्लभ दिगंबरा
Digambara Digambara,
Shripad Vallabh Digambara.
Digambara, Digambara, clad in the sky alone; Shripad Vallabh, Digambara.
हे दिगंबर, हे दिगंबर, जिनका वस्त्र केवल आकाश है; हे श्रीपाद वल्लभ, हे दिगंबर।
His devotees chant these words on a mala, over and over, above all on Thursdays and at Datta Jayanti. None of his prayers has a page yet: his aarti, Trigunatmaka Traimurti, the Datta Bavani and the Guru Charitra will come with pages of their own.
His prayers
- Digambara DigambaraHis name, chanted on the malaSoon
- Trigunatmaka TraimurtiHis aarti in Marathi, sung in Datta temples and homesSoon
- Datta BavaniFifty-two verses in Gujarati by Rang AvadhootSoon
- Shri Guru CharitraFifty-three chapters in Marathi, read in the week before Datta JayantiSoon
A simple Thursday or Datta Jayanti puja
Lord Dattatreya is worshipped on Thursdays, and on Datta Jayanti in the evening, at the hour of his birth. At home a short and quiet puja is enough. Follow your family’s way where it differs.
- Clean the place of worship, and set an image of Lord Dattatreya, or his padukas, on a clean cloth.
- Light a lamp and incense before him.
- Offer flowers, saying Om Dram Dattatreyaya Namah.
- Chant his mantra, or Digambara Digambara Shripad Vallabh Digambara, 108 times on a mala.
- Offer sweets and fruit as naivedyam; on Datta Jayanti, read a chapter of the Guru Charitra.
- Wave the lamp and camphor in aarti, and share the prasad.
What you need
- An image of Lord Dattatreya, or his padukas
- A lamp, incense and camphor
- Flowers
- Sweets and fruit for naivedyam
- A mala for the mantra
Who is Dattatreya
Lord Dattatreya, called Datta, is worshipped as Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva in one: a god, and above all a guru. By tradition he is the son of the sage Atri and his wife Anasuya, whose virtue the three gods came to test, and his name joins Datta, given, with Atreya, the son of Atri. He is shown with three heads and six hands, a cow behind him and four dogs at his feet, in the shade of an audumbar tree.
In the Bhagavata Purana he is an avadhuta, a wandering sage free of every bond, who tells King Yadu that the self is his guru and that he has learned from twenty-four teachers in the world around him. The Avadhuta Gita, a song of the free soul, is given in his name, and the Nath yogis honour him too.
The Datta sampradaya, strongest in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, holds that he came again in its great teachers: first Shripad Shrivallabha of Pithapuram, then Narasimha Saraswati, who lived at Audumbar, Narsobawadi and Ganagapur, where his padukas are worshipped, and in time Swami Samarth of Akkalkot. Their lives are told in the Guru Charitra. Thursday is his day each week, and Datta Jayanti, on the full moon of Margashirsha, his birthday.
- Datta given, for the three gods gave themselves as Anasuya’s son
- Atreya the son of Atri, the other half of his name
- Dattaguru Datta the guru
- Shri Gurudev Datta as his devotees call him
- Digambara clad in the sky, in his chant
- Avadhuta the sage free of every bond, as the Bhagavata calls him
ॐ द्रां दत्तात्रेयाय नमः
Om Dram Dattatreyaya Namah
Om, dram: I bow to Dattatreya. Dram is his seed syllable, the bija, and an Upanishad in his name gives these eight syllables as his mantra. Many chant it 108 times on a mala.
ॐ, द्रां: मैं दत्तात्रेय को नमन करता हूँ। द्रां उनका बीज अक्षर है, और उनके नाम का एक उपनिषद इन आठ अक्षरों को उनका मंत्र बताता है। कई भक्त माला पर इसे 108 बार जपते हैं।
Shri Gurudev Datta,
Shri Gurudev Datta!
Shri Datta, the divine guru! It is among the names he is best known by, said over and over on the mala and called out in his temples.
Datta Jayanti and his days
When his devotees keep them
Datta Jayanti
His birthday falls on the full moon of Margashirsha, in December. He was born at dusk, so the puja is held in the evening while the full moon holds, and many fast through the day. It is kept above all at Ganagapur, Narsobawadi, Audumbar, Pithapuram and on Girnar.
The week of the Guru Charitra
Many devotees read the Guru Charitra, the lives of Shripad Shrivallabha and Narasimha Saraswati in fifty-three chapters of Marathi, over the seven days before the Jayanti, so as to finish on the day itself.
Thursdays
Thursday, the day of the guru, is his day each week. Devotees chant his mantra and his name on a mala, and visit his temples; families follow their own custom.
What his symbols mean
Three heads, six hands
Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva in one: each god’s two emblems are in his hands, the rosary and water pot, the conch and discus, the trident and drum.
The four dogs
The four Vedas, following him wherever he goes as faithful guardians of the truth.
The cow
Kamadhenu, the cow who grants wishes, standing behind him.
The audumbar tree
A wild fig, held to be the wish-granting tree, in whose shade he sits.
The padukas
His sandals, worshipped at Narsobawadi, Ganagapur, Audumbar and Girnar: the guru’s feet, where devotees bow.
The twenty-four gurus
The teachers of the Avadhuta, from the earth to the wasp: wisdom found in all the world, for the one who looks.
His stories
Across India
Maharashtra
The heart of the Datta tradition: the padukas of Narasimha Saraswati at Narsobawadi and Audumbar on the river Krishna, his birthplace at Karanja, the Datta Shikhar above Mahur, and the math of Swami Samarth at Akkalkot.
Karnataka
At Ganagapur, where the Bhima meets the Amarja, the Nirguna padukas of Narasimha Saraswati; and at Kuravpur, an island in the river Krishna near Raichur, the shrine of Shripad Shrivallabha.
Andhra Pradesh
Pithapuram, the birthplace of Shripad Shrivallabha, the first of the Datta tradition’s great teachers, and one of its great shrines.
Gujarat
Devotees climb the thousands of steps of Girnar, near Junagadh, to its Datta peak and his padukas, and across Gujarat many recite the Datta Bavani of Rang Avadhoot.
His temples
- Shri Dattatreya Temple, GanagapurGanagapur, Kalaburagi, Karnataka
- Shri Datta Temple, NarsobawadiNarsobawadi, Kolhapur, Maharashtra
- Shri Datta Temple, AudumbarAudumbar, Sangli, Maharashtra
- Shri Datta Shikhar, MahurMahur, Nanded, Maharashtra
- Guru Datta Shikhar, GirnarGirnar, Junagadh, Gujarat
- Shripad Shrivallabh Mahasamsthanam, PithapuramPithapuram, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh
- Shripad Shrivallabh Temple, KuravpurKuravpur, Raichur, Karnataka
- Guru Mandir, KaranjaKaranja Lad, Washim, Maharashtra
- Swami Samarth Math, AkkalkotAkkalkot, Solapur, Maharashtra
Questions
When is Datta Jayanti in 2026?
Datta Jayanti, his birthday, is on Wednesday 23 December 2026 in New Delhi. Pick your city at the top of this page for its own date and muhurat.
Who is Lord Dattatreya?
A god and guru in whom Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are one, the son of the sage Atri and Anasuya. He is shown with three heads and six hands, a cow behind him and four dogs at his feet, and the Datta tradition worships him as its first guru.
Which day is Lord Dattatreya’s?
Thursday, the day of the guru, each week; and Datta Jayanti, his birthday, on the full moon of Margashirsha in December, kept in the evening, the hour of his birth.
What is the Datta mantra?
Om Dram Dattatreyaya Namah, his mantra of eight syllables, with dram his seed syllable. His devotees also chant his name: Digambara Digambara Shripad Vallabh Digambara, and Shri Gurudev Datta. Many chant 108 times on a mala.
Who are the twenty-four gurus of Lord Dattatreya?
The teachers he names to King Yadu in the Bhagavata Purana: the earth, air, sky, water, fire, moon, sun, pigeon, python, ocean, moth, honeybee, elephant, honey-gatherer, deer, fish, Pingala, the hawk, a child, a maiden, an arrow-maker, the serpent, the spider and the wasp. From each he learned something.
Why does Lord Dattatreya have four dogs and a cow?
The four dogs at his feet are held to be the four Vedas, following him as guardians of the truth. The cow behind him is Kamadhenu, who grants wishes. He sits in the shade of the audumbar, the wish-granting tree.
Who were Shripad Shrivallabha and Narasimha Saraswati?
The two great teachers whom the Datta tradition holds to be his forms. Shripad Shrivallabha was born at Pithapuram; after him Narasimha Saraswati, born at Karanja, lived at Audumbar, Narsobawadi and Ganagapur. Their lives are told in the Guru Charitra, in Marathi.
What are the six things in his hands?
Two emblems for each of the three gods in him: the rosary and water pot of Lord Brahma, the conch and discus of Lord Vishnu, and the trident and drum of Lord Shiva.