Festival · Dattatreya

Dattatreya Jayanti

The birth of Lord Dattatreya, in whom Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are one, son of the sage Atri and Anasuya, at dusk on the Margashirsha full moon. It is kept above all in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat.

Dattatreya Jayanti 2026
Wednesday 23 December 2026
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Wednesday 23 December 2026

Purnima tithi

Begins
10:47 am
Ends
6:58 am, 24 Dec
Sunrise
7:10 am
Sunset
5:30 pm
Moonrise
4:41 pm
Moonset
Not this day

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

  • Fast and worship Lord Dattatreya in the evening, when he was born
  • Read the Guru Charitra
  • Visit a Datta temple

What it remembers

Dattatreya Jayanti, or Datta Jayanti, is the birthday of Lord Dattatreya, in whom Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are one. He was born to the sage Atri and his wife Anasuya at dusk on the full moon of Margashirsha, so his puja is held in the evening, while the full moon holds. He is honoured as a guru, above all in the Datta tradition. The day is kept most of all in Maharashtra, and in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, at the river towns where his later forms lived and at the summit of Girnar.

Anasuya’s test

Anasuya, wife of the sage Atri, was praised through the three worlds for her virtue, and the wives of the three gods, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Parvati, asked their husbands to test her. Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva came to her door as wandering ascetics and made a demand no good wife could meet. Anasuya turned them into babies and fed and cared for them as her own. When their wives came to beg for them back, the three gods blessed her, and agreed to be born as her son.

One son, or three

Tellings differ on how the boon came true. In one, the three were born as one child with three heads, Lord Dattatreya: Datta, given, and Atreya, son of Atri. In others, Anasuya had three sons: Dattatreya, of Lord Vishnu; Durvasa, of Lord Shiva; and Chandra, the moon, of Lord Brahma. He is pictured with three heads and six arms, with a cow beside him and dogs at his feet, often four.

The twenty-four gurus

In the Bhagavata Purana (11.7), King Yadu meets Lord Dattatreya and asks him who his guru is. He answers that the self is his guru, and that he has learned from twenty-four teachers in the world around him: the earth, water, air, fire and sky, the sun and moon, the ocean, a python, a pigeon, a spider and more. From each of them he learned something.

Shripad Shrivallabha and Narasimha Saraswati

His devotees hold that Datta came again as two great teachers. Shripad Shrivallabha was born at Pithapuram in Andhra. After him came Narasimha Saraswati, who lived at Audumbar and Narsobawadi on the river Krishna, and then at Ganagapur in Karnataka, where his sandals (padukas) are worshipped. Their lives are told in the Guru Charitra, written in Marathi in the fifteenth or sixteenth century, which is read most of all in the week of the Jayanti.

Keeping Datta Jayanti

The main worship is in the evening, at the hour of his birth, while the full moon holds. Many fast through the day. Families keep it in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.

  1. In the week before, begin a reading of the Guru Charitra, so that it ends on Datta Jayanti; if the whole book is too much, read a chapter or two each evening, or one on the day.
  2. Bathe early, in a river if you can, as many do on this day, and take the vow (sankalpa) to fast.
  3. Set up an image of Lord Dattatreya, or his padukas, at the puja place.
  4. At dusk, worship him with flowers, incense, a lamp and camphor, and offer sweets and fruit.
  5. Sing his bhajans, or recite the Datta Bavani, as many Gujarati families do.
  6. End with the aarti, and share the prasad with the family.

What you need

  • An image of Lord Dattatreya, or his padukas
  • Flowers, incense, camphor and a lamp
  • Sweets and fruit for the offering
  • The Guru Charitra to read from

Across India

Ganagapur, Karnataka

At the meeting of the Bhima and Amarja rivers, Narasimha Saraswati’s Nirguna padukas are worshipped in the old temple, and pilgrims visit the audumbar tree under which he is said to have done his austerities. They come to bathe at the sangam and to read the Guru Charitra here, some over several days.

Narsobawadi, Maharashtra

Where the Panchganga joins the river Krishna, Narasimha Saraswati is believed to have stayed for twelve years. The temple holds no image, only his padukas, and Datta Jayanti is one of its great festivals.

Audumbar, Maharashtra

A temple on the river Krishna, among the audumbar fig trees that give it its name, where Narasimha Saraswati spent a Chaturmas and left his padukas. Datta Jayanti is among its most important festivals.

Girnar, Gujarat

Datta devotees climb the thousands of stone steps of Girnar, near Junagadh, to its Datta peak, where his padukas are worshipped. Across Gujarat many recite the Datta Bavani, a hymn of 52 verses in Gujarati by Rang Avadhoot.

Pithapuram, Andhra Pradesh

The birthplace of Shripad Shrivallabha, and one of the great Datta shrines, where the day is kept at his temple.

When it falls

Purnima of Margashirsha. Kept on the day this tithi holds in the evening.

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Dattatreya Jayanti in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2026Wednesday 23 December 2026
  2. 2027Monday 13 December 2027
  3. 2028Friday 1 December 2028

Questions

When is Dattatreya Jayanti in 2026?

Wednesday 23 December 2026, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.

When does Dattatreya Jayanti fall?

Purnima of Margashirsha. Kept on the day this tithi holds in the evening.

How is Dattatreya Jayanti kept?

Families fast and worship Lord Dattatreya in the evening, when he was born, read the Guru Charitra and visit a Datta temple. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Dattatreya Jayanti?

Dattatreya. The birth of Lord Dattatreya, in whom Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are one, son of the sage Atri and Anasuya, at dusk on the Margashirsha full moon. It is kept above all in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat.

Who is Lord Dattatreya?

A god and guru in whom Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are one, son of the sage Atri and Anasuya. He is shown with three heads and six arms, with a cow and dogs, and is worshipped as a guru by the Datta tradition, strongest in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

Why is Dattatreya Jayanti kept in the evening?

Lord Dattatreya is held to have been born at dusk on the full moon of Margashirsha. So the day is chosen when the full moon holds in the evening, and the main puja is done then.

What is the Guru Charitra?

A Marathi book of 53 chapters, written in the fifteenth or sixteenth century, telling the lives and teachings of Shripad Shrivallabha and Narasimha Saraswati, held to be forms of Lord Dattatreya. Many devotees read the whole of it over the seven days before Datta Jayanti, to finish on the day.

Who were Shripad Shrivallabha and Narasimha Saraswati?

Two teachers whom Datta devotees hold to be his incarnations. Shripad Shrivallabha was born at Pithapuram in Andhra Pradesh, and after him Narasimha Saraswati lived at Audumbar, Narsobawadi and Ganagapur. Their padukas are worshipped at these places, and their lives are told in the Guru Charitra.

Is Datta Jayanti the same day as Margashirsha Purnima?

Yes, Datta Jayanti is kept on Margashirsha Purnima, the full moon of the month. When the full moon does not hold at dusk on the first day, the Jayanti is kept on the day it does.

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