Dattaatreya is a deity revered as the combination of the forces of creation, sustenance and destruction. He is the one who was "gifted" to sage "Atri" and His wife Anasuya, hence the name Datta Aatreya.He is the author of the wonderful book on Advaita, Tripura Rahasya. In this book, He imparts Advaita lessons to His disciple ParasuRaama.
His depiction is very interesting: Dattaatreya is shown with three heads, symbolizing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. With Him is the bovine divinity-the Kaamadhenu, and four dogs, representing the four Vedas.
He has 24 Gurus, like fire, water, wind, earth, etc.-pretty unusual considering the fact that even the great Avatars like Rama and Krishna had well accomplished scholars (Vasishta and Sandipani respectively) as their Gurus.
This actually exemplifies the Rig Vedic message "Aa No Bhadrah Kratavo Yanthu Vishvataha-Let noble thoughts come to us from every side". This English translation is in fact the motto of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, the pioneering educational institution founded by the visionary Kulapati K. M. Munshi.
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