Gāṇagāpur, Audumbar and Māhur

Lord Dattātreya · Karnataka and Maharashtra

Dattātreya, worshipped as the combined form of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, has several beloved shrines in the Deccan. Gāṇagāpur in Kalaburagi district, Karnataka, near the meeting of the Bhīmā and Amarajā, is linked with the saint Narasiṃha Sarasvatī, revered as an incarnation of Datta; his life is told in the Gurucaritra. Audumbar on the Kṛṣṇā in Sangli district is associated with his meditation under an audumbara (cluster fig) tree.

Māhur in Nanded district is remembered as Datta’s birthplace and also holds the Reṇukā Devī temple, a Śakti Pīṭha of Maharashtra. Datta Jayantī in Mārgaśīrṣa is the main festival.

Tradition says the virtuous Anasūyā, wife of the sage Atri, was tested by Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, who came as mendicants. By the power of her purity she turned them into infants and cared for them like a mother. Pleased, the three were born to her as one child, Dattātreya — “given” (datta) to the son of Atri.

Karnataka · Maharashtra · Dattātreya · Gurucaritra · Datta Jayantī

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