Dattatreya Prarthana
The mythologies of Dattatreya are diverse and vary by region. In the Puranas, he was born in north Indian hermitage to Anusuya and her husband the Vedic sage Atri traditionally credited with making the largest contribution to the Rigveda. Another states his father lived in southern India, in the western Deccan region. A third claim he was born in Kashmir jungles near the sacred Amarnath. Fourth legend states he was born along his brothers were Durvasas and Chandra, to an unwed mother named Anusuya, after sage Atri saw her bathing, fantasized about her which caused her to become pregnant.In a fifth myth, sage Atri was very old when young Anusuya married him, and they sought the help of the Trimurti gods for a child. The Trinity was pleased with them for having brought light and knowledge to the world, simultaneously granted the boon, which led Dattatreya to be born with characteristics of all three.
दत्तात्रेय प्रार्थना
यतीरूप दत्तात्रेया दंडधारी l
पदीं पादुका शोभती सौख्यकारी ll
दयासिंधु ज्याचीं पदें दुःखहारी l
तुम्हांवीण दत्ता मला कोण तारी ll
| 1. | Earth | Steadfastly productive, does its dharma, gets abused, heals and is steady in giving nourishment. | forbearance, remain undisturbed even if oppressed, keep healing even if others injure you |
| 2. | Wind | Passes through everything and everyone, unchanged, unattached, like Truth; sometimes becomes a gale, disturbs and changes the world, like Truth. | be free like the wind, yet resolute true to your own force |
| 3. | Sky | the highest has no boundaries, no limits, is unaffected even if clouds and thunderstorms come and go | the highest within oneself, the Atman (self, soul) has no limits, it is undifferentiated nondual no matter what, let the clouds of materiality pass, be one with your soul and the Universal Self |
| 4. | Water | serves all without pride, discrimination; is transparent to everyone; purifies and gives life to everyone it touches | a saint discriminates against no one and is never arrogant, lets other give him impurity, yet he always remains pure and cleanses |
| 5. | Fire | purifies and reforms everything it comes in contact with, its energy shapes things | the heat of knowledge reforms everything it comes in contact with, to shape oneself one needs the energy of learning |
| 6. | Moon | waxes and wanes but its oneness doesn’t change | birth, death, rebirth and the cycle of existence does not change the oneness of soul, like moon it is a continuous eternal reality |
| 7. | Sun | source of light and gives its gift to all creatures as a sense of duty; in rain puddles it reflects and seems like distinct in each puddle, yet it is the same one Sun | the soul may appear different in different bodies, yet everyone is connected and the soul is same in all; like Sun, one must share one’s gifts as a sense of duty |
| 8. | Pigeons | they suffer losses in the hands of violent hunters, warn against obsessive attachments to anyone or to material things in this world | do not be obsessive, don’t focus on transient things such as damage or personal loss, human life is a rare privilege to learn, discover one’s soul and reach moksha |
| 9. | Python | eats whatever comes its way, makes the most from what it consumes | be content with what you have, make the most from life’s gifts |
| 10. | Bumblebee | active, works hard to build and create its reserve by directly visiting the flowers, but is selective and uses discretion, harmonious with flowers and never kills or over consumes | be active, go directly to the sources of knowledge, seek wisdom from all sources but choose the nectar, be gentle, live harmoniously and leave others or other ideologies alone when you must |
| 11. | Beekeeper | profits from honeybees | don’t crave for material pleasures or in piling up treasures, neither the body nor material wealth ever lasts |
| 12. | Hawk | picks up a large chunk of food, but other birds harass him, when it drops its food other birds leave him alone | take what you need, not more |
| 13. | Ocean | lucid at the surface, but deep and undisturbed within; receives numerous rivers yet remains the same | let rivers of sensory input not bother who you are deep inside, know your depths, seek self-knowledge, be unperturbed by life, equipoise |
| 14. | Moth | is deceived by its senses, it runs to the fire in misunderstanding which kills it | question your senses, question what others are telling you, question what you see, know senses can deceive, seek reason |
| 15. | Elephant | is deceived by his lust, runs after the smell of a possible mate, and falls into a pit made by mahout’s then fettered and used | don’t lust after something or someone, don’t fall into traps of others or of sensory gratification |
| 16. | Deer | is deceived by his fear, by hunters who beat drums and scare him into a waiting net | fear not the noise, and do not succumb to pressure others design for you |
| 17. | Fish | is deceived by bait and so lured to its death | greed not the crumbs someone places before you, there are plenty of healthy opportunities everywhere |
| 18. | Courtesan | exchanges transient pleasure with body, but feels dejected with meaningless life, ultimately moves on | many prostitute their time, self-respect and principles for various reasons but feel dejected with their career and circumstances, seek meaning and spirituality in life, move on to doing things you love to do |
| 19. | Child | lives a life of innocent bliss | be a child, curious, innocent, blissful |
| 20. | Maiden | she is poor yet tries her best to feed her family and guest, as she cooks she avoids attracting attention to her kitchen and poverty, by breaking all her bangles except one on each wrist | don’t seek attention, a yogi accomplishes and shares more through solitude |
| 21. | Snake | lives in whatever hole that comes his way, willingly leaves bad skin and molts | a yogi can live in any place, must be ready to molt old ideas and body for rebirth of his spirit |
| 22. | Arrowsmith | the best one was so lost in his work that he failed to notice the king’s procession that passed his way | concentrate on what you love to do, intense concentration is the way to self-realization |
| 23. | Spider | builds a beautiful web, destroys and abandons the web, then restarts again | don’t get entangled by your own web, be ready to abandon it, go with your Atman |
| 24. | Caterpillar | starts out closed in a tiny nest but ultimately becomes a butterfly | long journeys start small, a disciple starts out as insignificant but ultimately becomes a spiritual master |
