Where does Dattatreya fit in Sri Vaishnavism?

[Chakra]

So is Dattatreya worshipable or not? I'm rather confused.

I haven't seen many Shri Vaishnavas or even Vaishnavas in general worship him. I'll have to do more research as to find whether Dattatreya is a shaktavesa avatar or not.

 

[kalyan]

I see, but why is he depicted with three heads most of the time?

i am calling bs on dattatreya with 3 heads, its recently injected or introduced phenomenon with vested interests......just like the ayyappa stuff which was introduced in kerala, ayyappa is a siddha most likely but he was made a god by some vested interests.....
one person starts it because he thinks it is attractive or for some other interests, then blind followers simply follow it .
well, that is not the way it works, we only check for valid vedas or puranas to confirm/deny any existence of character.....
so it should not be worshipped in my opinion because that would be worshiping a false someone....but well ofcourse if you want to worship them individually you can choose either.
dattatreya is a sage and that is it...

 

[Terese]

So dattatreya is not a full manifestation of god? But just a sage? I have seen pictures where dattatreya with 3 heads is revered as a form of god, so what gives?

 

[SomeRandom]

So dattatreya is not a full manifestation of god? But just a sage? I have seen pictures where dattatreya with 3 heads is revered as a form of god, so what gives?

It could be because Hindus are generally free to follow whomever they want. As such you can get mixed messages of sorts regarding "Sages." Especially due to the fluidity of Hinduism in general. It's sort of the same for "the Babas."
Shirdi and Sathya Sai in some households are revered as either as sages of the God/s or as incarnations of God/Vishnu/Naryan/etc. While not all Hindus accept the Babas, in fact even I get a sort of "cult like" feel from them, at least from Sathya even though I come from a household who does worship them. These same Hindus don't often go out of their way to condemn Hindus that do worship them. Because, well, free will is pretty damned important when it comes to worship I suppose.

The three heads could be representational, like a shorthand to tell other Hindus easily that this is an incarnation of Brahma, done by someone (or someones) who did regard him as an incarnation of God, regardless of "official" thoughts on the matter. Because as far as I have seen, Brahma is really the only deity with three heads. Well.........you know what I mean.
As for reverence, Sages are often among the most revered (and often equally feared) people in Hinduism second only to God of course. So you might be able to find depictions of Lord Rama even giving respect/reverence to a "mighty" Sage.

But alas, I can't answer as to whether or not Dattateya is considered an "official" incarnation in any sect of Hinduism.

 

[Terese]

It could be because Hindus are generally free to follow whomever they want. As such you can get mixed messages of sorts regarding "Sages." Especially due to the fluidity of Hinduism in general. It's sort of the same for "the Babas."
Shirdi and Sathya Sai in some households are revered as either as sages of the God/s or as incarnations of God/Vishnu/Naryan/etc. While not all Hindus accept the Babas, in fact even I get a sort of "cult like" feel from them, at least from Sathya even though I come from a household who does worship them. These same Hindus don't often go out of their way to condemn Hindus that do worship them. Because, well, free will is pretty damned important when it comes to worship I suppose.

The three heads could be representational, like a shorthand to tell other Hindus easily that this is an incarnation of Brahma, done by someone (or someones) who did regard him as an incarnation of God, regardless of "official" thoughts on the matter. Because as far as I have seen, Brahma is really the only deity with three heads. Well.........you know what I mean.
As for reverence, Sages are often among the most revered (and often equally feared) people in Hinduism second only to God of course. So you might be able to find depictions of Lord Rama even giving respect/reverence to a "mighty" Sage.

But alas, I can't answer as to whether or not Dattateya is considered an "official" incarnation in any sect of Hinduism.

I see. Well it's no problem, I'm getting the feel that he's a sage. I will at least revere him, as he is an important individual in Hinduism.

 

[Aupmanyav]

So is Dattatreya worshipable or not? I'm rather confused.

Worshipable for sure, since Hindus worship Gods and Goddesses as well as their great sages, Sage VedaVyasa, Valmiki, Agastya, etc. Aryans worshiped the Atharvan, Angiras, Bhrigu, etc.

One more thing that I notice is that Dattatreya worship is popular in Pancha-Dravida region - Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra, Karnatak and Tamilnadu.

 

[Terese]

Worshipable for sure, since Hindus worship Gods and Goddesses as well as their great sages, Sage VedaVyasa, Valmiki, Agastya, etc. Aryans worshiped the Atharvan, Angiras, Bhrigu, etc.

One more thing that I notice is that Dattatreya worship is popular in Pancha-Dravida region - Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra, Karnatak and Tamilnadu.

Sages are worshipable? But they are not god. Or do they worship them as partial incarnations of God?

 

[Aupmanyav]

Through the grace of Gods and Goddesses, Sages have all the powers; except giving a person Moksha, though they may be instrumental in showing him/her the way and propelling them on wards. Many were partial avataras.

 

[Yogi1054]

Is he venerated in the South of India? I have not seen his murti in many temples

 

[Aupmanyav]

In Andhra, Karnataka, but strongly in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Also wherever Natha Sampradaya is popular. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dattatreya#Origins

 

[Yogi1054]

Thanks for that Aupmanyav - I've done a bit more reading a rounding the subject and never knew Swami Samarth Maharaj was considered an avatar of Lord dattreya I always thought he was from the dvaita tradition due to the tilka marks on his body

 

[Aupmanyav]

By now, you must have seen that the avadhuta tradition is connected to (Lord) Dattatreya. Does not fit with Vaishnavism. Vaishnavas do not like to share their Vishnu/Krishna with any other God.

"Thou shalt not have any other Gods before me." Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 5:7
“And whoever associates anything with Allah, he devises indeed a great sin.” (Surah an-Nisā’ 4:48)

 

[kalyan]

Thanks for that Aupmanyav - I've done a bit more reading a rounding the subject and never knew Swami Samarth Maharaj was considered an avatar of Lord dattreya I always thought he was from the dvaita tradition due to the tilka marks on his body

i think normal people being made as avataras, this culture should be lost in sanatana dharma for it to progress.....why dont accept the vedic gods which exists from sanatana time and why do someone feels the need to make 1 an avatar is beyond me

 

[Chakra]

i think normal people being made as avataras, this culture should be lost in sanatana dharma for it to progress.....why dont accept the vedic gods which exists from sanatana time and why do someone feels the need to make 1 an avatar is beyond me

inb4 Aup makes a post about Krishna, Ram, Shiva, etc being non-Vedic gods.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Yes, they were indigenous Gods and Goddesses, without even one mention in RigVeda.

 

[Yogi1054]

Thankyou Aupmanyav for the information
That explains when I see Swami Samarth Maharaj there is always Lord Dattatreya with him! I always thought Sawmi Ji was from the Vashnava tradition of Madhva due to the Tilak marks on his body