Datta Jayanti is a celebration of Deity Dattatreya’s birth. He was born in the evening of the full-moon day (Pournima) of the Hindu lunar month of Margashirsha (approximately in December). He is considered to be the Guru of all Gurus ! In all, Deity Datta assumed sixteen main Incarnations. The book ‘Shri Dattatreya Shodashavataraha’ by H.H. Vasudevanand Saraswati narrates the stories of these Incarnations.
History
In the times gone by, negative energies grew tremendously in the physical as well as the subtle dimensions. When the efforts of all Deities to vanquish these negative energies were unsuccessful, under orders from Deity Brahma, Deity Dattatreya incarnated at various places in various forms to destroy the negative energies.
How to celebrate ?
On Datta Jayanti, the Dattatreya Principle is one thousand times more active on Earth as compared to the other days. If we worship Him on this day with utmost devotion, we can obtain maximum spiritual benefit from the increased Datta principle.
It is a practice to perform parayanas (Periodic, repeated reading of a Holy text) of the Gurucharitra seven days before this celebration. This is known as Gurucharitrasaptaha. Bhajan, pujan and specially kirtan are forms of devotion prevalent in Audumbar and Narsobawadi in Maharashtra and Ganagapur in Karnataka. These three are pilgrim places of Deity Datta, where Datta Jayanti celebrations have special significance.
Dattagayatri
Meaning : We know Dattatreya. We meditate upon Avadhut. May that Datta inspire our intellect.