Nṛsiṃha Sarasvatī
c. 14th–15th century · Karanja & Gāṇagāpur · Datta tradition
Nṛsiṃha Sarasvatī, born Narahari at Karanja in Vidarbha, is revered as the second avatāra of Dattātreya in the Kali age. After taking sannyāsa he travelled widely and lived for years at Narsobāvāḍī on the Kṛṣṇā and then at Gāṇagāpur in northern Karnataka, at the meeting of the Bhīmā and Amarajā rivers, which became the foremost Datta pilgrimage centre.
His life and teachings are told in the Gurucaritra, written in Marathi by Sarasvatī Gaṅgādhar. Reading it in seven days (saptāha) is a cherished practice of Datta devotees.
Tradition says the child Narahari spoke only “Om” and nothing else for years, and his parents feared he was mute. At his sacred-thread ceremony he began to recite the Vedas perfectly.
Gāṇagāpur · Gurucaritra · Narsobāvāḍī