Dattatreya

About Dattatreya

Dattatreya stands as a wandering ascetic beneath the Audumbara (cluster fig) tree, sky-clad and matted-haired, with three heads for Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva and six arms carrying their emblems — rosary and water pot, conch and discus, trident and drum. Four dogs, said to be the four Vedas, and a cow trail behind him. Son of sage Atri and Anasuya, he is hailed as the Adi Guru who, in the Bhagavata Purana, names twenty-four teachers drawn from nature. His seed mantra is 'Dram'. Devotees gather at Ganagapur and Pithapuram on Datta Jayanti, Margashirsha Purnima.