Dattatreya Jayanti Saturday 18th December 2021
About Sri Dattatreya Swamy:
Dattatreya Jayanti is the birth anniversary who is considered an avatar of Lord Brahma, Sri Maha Vishnu, and Lord Shiva popularly known as Thrimoorthy. In other regions, and some versions of ancient texts like Garuda Purana, Brahma Purana and Sattvata Samhita, Dattatreya Swamy is an avatar of Sri Maha Vishnu.
Dattatreya Swamy is shown with 3 heads and 6 hands, 1 head each for Lord Brahma, Sri Maha Vishnu, and Lord Shiva, and one pair of hand holds rosary and water pot of Lord Brahma, conch and wheel of Sri Maha Vishnu, trident and drum of Lord Shiva.
Typically, he is dressed as a mere monk or almost naked, located in a forest or desert, suggesting his renunciation of material possessions and the pursuit of a meditative yogi lifestyle. In paintings and some large sizes, he is surrounded by four dogs and a cow, which symbolizes the four Vedas and the nourishing earth that feeds all living beings. In the temples of southern Maharashtra, Varanasi and the Himalayas, his iconography shows him with a head and two hands with four dogs and a cow.