Why is Dattatreya described so briefly in the Bhagavatam – what is the significance?
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Question. What is the significance of the brief description of the Tatre in the Bhagavatam? When he is a combined manifestation of all the three Devatas, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, why is he described so briefly in the Bhagavatam? Answer.
The Bhagavatam is from the historical as well as the conceptual point of view, focusing on a particular theme. And from the chronological or the historical perspective, it is spoken with Parikshit Maharaj having seven days remaining and therefore there is a great sense of urgency there. And that’s why we see that even Lord Ram’s pastimes are not described much in the Bhagavatam.
And of course, Shukadev Goswami there specifically states that, oh, Parikshit Maharaj, you already heard about the pastimes of Lord Ram. Therefore, I’ll not speak much about them. So the point is that the Bhagavatam is not meant to be like a exhaustive compilation about all the manifestations, all incarnations of the Lord.
It is focusing on, with the particular context of Parikshit Maharaj having seven days remaining, it is focusing on the highest manifestation of the highest absolute truth. The absolute truth manifests at various levels as Brahman, Paramatma, Bhagwan. And among the various manifestations of Bhagwan, Krishna is the highest.
And Krishna is intimately related to Parikshit Maharaj also, having recently appeared, having been so intimately connected with Parikshit Maharaj’s grandfather and being the object of Parikshit Maharaj’s devotion. So the Bhagavatam focuses on Krishna elaborately in the 10th Canto. In fact, none of the other Puranas focus so much on Krishna.
Even the Mahabharata’s focus is not on Krishna. So the Bhagavatam’s distinctive focus is on Krishna. And Krishna is described not just in the 10th Canto.
His activities in terms of his teachings are described even in the 11th Canto. And Krishna practically has a mention somewhere or the other in each of the cantos of the Bhagavatam. So the Bhagavatam focuses on Krishna because both he is the highest manifestation of the Bhagwan aspect of the absolute truth and because he is intimately related to Parikshit Maharaj.
And also, if we look at the conceptual evolution that happens in the Bhagavatam, we know that Shukdev Goswami himself moved from an impersonalist conception to a personalist conception. And the Bhagavatam describes various manifestations of the absolute truth, culminating in the manifestation of the absolute truth as Bhagwan Sri Krishna. So, for example, it starts with the description of Vishvarupa in the 3rd Canto, the Virata Rupa in the 2nd Canto.
Then it describes the various incarnations. And then if we look through, the 7th Canto talks about Narasimha, who has very personal, intimate reciprocations with Prahlad. And similarly Ram, although he is briefly mentioned.
So the point is that there is an evolution within the Bhagavatam’s description also with more and more intimate forms of divinity or intimate reciprocations with the Divine being described as the Bhagavatam approaches the 10th Canto. Dattatreya is no doubt a very powerful manifestation of the Lord. At the same time, in the past, in whatever pastimes he performed, in whatever activities he did, in whatever teachings he gave, it was not directly a very elevated personal revelation that he gave.
And although sometimes Dattatreya’s teachings are thought to be as impersonalist, but Vishwanath Chakra Thakur as well as Vishwanath Chakra Thakur quotes Sridhar Swami. And Sridhar Swami describes that the 11th Canto, Avadhut Brahmana, who learns from the 24 Gurus and who teaches Maharaja Yadu and whom Krishna quotes in the Uddhavita, that is Dattatreya. So that Avadhut Brahmana is Dattatreya.
And there he doesn’t just give impersonalist teachings, he gives personalist teachings also. So, of course, his focus is more on detachment. And Dattatreya, we understand that he is a manifestation of the Lord.
Now the Lord, ultimately when we say that he is manifested in three divinities, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, that story is described in the 4th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam of how Atrimrishi performed great austerities for propitiating all the three devatas and they blessed him. Now sometimes it is said that there are different versions in the Puranas of the story. So sometimes it is described that the three manifested as one infant, sometimes it is described that three manifested as three different infants.
But either way, the important point is that Dattatreya is a significant incarnation of the Lord, but his teachings were not exactly elevated personalism. So within the Bhagavatam’s flow of thought, neither the Dattatreya’s manifestation does not fit in, it does not play a very significant role because the Bhagavatam’s focus is on leading the seeker. It’s like at one level, a conceptual, spiritual, autobiographical journey of Shukadeva Swami, where just as he rose from impersonalism towards personalism.
So like that he is also taking the reader of Bhagavatam from one level of manifestation towards higher till he comes to the highest manifestation of Krishna. Of course, even before Shukadeva Swami appears in the first canto there is description of Krishna, but that is more of a historical narration rather than a conceptual evolution. So within the Bhagavatam, because Dattatreya’s pastimes, no doubt exalted, every incarnation is transcendental, every incarnation is exalted, but specifically Dattatreya’s pastimes are meant to, are not giving a, they themselves do not involve very intimate personal reciprocations and the message that he gives also does not involve very intimate, very intimate personal revelation and that’s why the Bhagavatam certainly mentions him, but like the many other manifestations of the Lord who are mentioned, but who are not elaborated, Shukadeva Swami keeps his focus fixed on revealing Krishna for the spiritual elevation to ecstatic absorption of Parikshit Maharaj.
Thank you very much.