mangaldhanram

Dattatreya
There are many stories about the birth of Dattatreya. One tale found in the Markandeya purana tells that there was a Brahmin named kaushika who had fallen from his sacred path. His pious wife, Shandili, still loved and venerated him. Kaushika used to frequent a prostitute, and one day, when kaushika did not have any more money, she killed him out of her house. The heartbroken kaushika came home and his wife tried to make him happy. He asked her to take her to the prostitute’s house. As Shandili was doing so, though a set of accidental circumstances, her husband was cursed by Rishi Mandavya to die at sunrise. Shandili, who had great spiritual power due to her piety, stopped the sun in its tracks. That led to the whole business of the world come to a screeching halt. The gods went to Vishnu for advice in this matter and were directed to seek help from Anusuya, the wife of Rishi Atri. Anusuya persuaded shandili to let the sun progress on its course, thus returning life back to the world, while at the same time saving Shandili’s husband from death. The gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were so pleased with Anusuya that they asked her to request a boon. She asked that the tree gods be born from her womb as her children. The gods agreed in time she had son’s soma, an incarnation of Brahma Datta, an incarnation of Vishnu, and Durwasa, an incarnation of shiva. Datta renounced all attachment and took refuge inside a lake, but his followers waited for him outside for a 100 celestial years. To dissuade them datta came out of the lake with a beautiful lady. His followers were not dissuaded. Datta then proceeded to drink wine with the woman. Even that did not help. Finally, datta was pleased with their devotion and gave them the knowledge of the absolute.
The Bhavisyat purana narrates the story differently. The wives of the three gods are envious of Anusuya’s piety and ask their husbands to test her. The gods go to her ashram and demand that she serve them food while nude. Anusuya sprinkles holy water on them and turns them into babies, and proceeds to serve them in her Lap. When the three gods do not return, their wives then go to her and beseech her to give their husbands back. In return, Anusuya asks them to be born as children from her womb. Later on, the tradition of Dattatreya developed to include worshippers from both the Vaishnava and the shaiva traditions. As joshi write:
In the bhagavata purana, Dattatreya is considered to be Yogapatta. His school is not a stereotype, is still developing. The idea of trinity has developed fully into the form of Dattatreya, in the present form, is worshipped as an incarnation of all the three principle gods of the Hindu pantheon, viz. Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. His triple nature is shown either by three heads or six hands. This school has always stressed the idea of equilibrium the idea of synthesizing the two opposites very effectively and positively...The need of the times becomes, as it were, the main problem before the school and their promulgators though the side is never forgotten. In Shree Guru Datta upasana, the paduka pooja been given main importance. ‘Shree Guru Charitra’ is originally written by Avadhoot Guru Dattatreya himself and one shouldn’t have any doubts as regards this.
As is evident from the passage above, it is in Dattatreya that all of the trinity can be perceived. He is a figure worshipped equally by the vaishnavas, the shivas and shaktas, for he is also said to have developed all the schools of tantra that exist.