The Shri Guru Charitra is a book based on the life of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, written by the 15th-16th century poet Shri Saraswati Gangadhar.
The book is based on the life of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, his philosophy and related stories. The language used is the 14-15th century Marathi. The book is written as a conversation between Siddha (who is a disciple of Shri Narasimha Saraswati) and ''Namadharaka'' who is listening to ''Siddha''. It is divided into 3 parts: ''Dhyankand'' (Knowledge), ''Karmakand'' (Work) and ''Bhaktikand'' (Devotion). It has 52 Chapters in which, the 53rd chapter is also called as ''′Gurucharitra Avatarnika′'' which is the summary of the book.
The book is assumed to be written in a village in
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
known as Kadaganchi. The writer was Saraswati Gangadhar who was a poet and an extreme vanshaj of Sayandev Sakhre, one of the disciples from four favorite disciples of Shriguru Narasimha Saraswati.
The chronology introduced in the Shri Guru Charitra of Shriguru Narasimha Saraswati is as follows:
Chronology
The main events of Sri Narasimha Saraswati's life are given below. Possible years and dates are given according to descriptions of the lunar and stellar events calendar mentioned in the ''Shri GuruCharitra''.
* Sha. 1300 (1378 CE): Birth
* Sha. 1307 (1385 CE):
Upanayan
''Upanayana'' ( sa, उपनयनम्, lit=initiation, translit=Upanāyanam) is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' ...
* Sha. 1308 (1386 CE): Left home
* Sha. 1310 (1388 CE): Took Sanyas
* Sha. 1338 (1416 CE): Arrived back home at Lad-Karanja
* Sha. 1340 (1418 CE): Travelled along the banks of the river
Gautami
Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1969), known mononymously as Gautami, is an Indian actress and politician who has worked mainly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films in addition to Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South India ...
* Sha. 1342 (1420 CE): Stayed at Parali-Vaijanath
* Sha. 1343 (1421 CE): Stayed at Audumbar (near Bhilawadi)
* Sha. 1344-1356 (1422-1434 CE): Stayed at
Narsobawadi
Nrusinhawadi commonly known as Narsobawadi or Narsobachi Wadi is a small town in Shirol Tahasil in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. Narsobawadi gets its name from the presence of 'Shri Nrusinha Saraswati', the Purna Avatar of Lord Dattatreya.
Wi ...
(Narasimhapur)
* Sha. 1357-1380 (1435-1458 CE): Stayed at Ganagapur (Gandharvapur).
* Sha. 1380 (14 January 1459 CE): Nijanandagaman at Shrishaila Mountain.
The extreme 24 characteristics of Shri Gurumurti Nrusimha saraswati swami maharaj.
The references found under various books and proper information and technical centre of ''′Adhyatma′'' are nowadays introduced are in many hearts :
* ''Nath Sampradaya'': The
Nath
Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Dattatreya as their theological founder. This group grew and became particularly prominent during the Islamic invasions and Hindu-Muslim wars in South Asia, from about the 14th to 18th century, although the Dattatreya roots of the peaceful Nath yogis go back to about the 10th century. The group was most active in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. The tradition believes that the legendary Nath sampradaya yogi and Hatha Yoga innovator
Gorakshanath
Gorakhnath (also known as Goraksanath, c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, saint who was the influential founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India He is considered one of the two notable disciples of Matsyendranath. His follower ...
was inspired and shaped by Dattatreya. Regional efforts and texts of the Nath tradition such as ''Yogi sampradaya vishkriti'' discussed Dattatreya.
* ''Avadhuta Sampradaya'': The nine ''Narayanas'' of the Avadhuta sampradaya are attributed to Dattatreya, an idea also found in the Natha sampradaya. A panth started by Pantmaharaj Balekundrikar of Balekundri near
Belgavi
Belgaum ( ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belagavi ...
is related to this.
* Dasanami sampradaya and
Shakti
In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and r ...
pithas: Dattatreya is revered in Dasanami and goddess-oriented Shaktism traditions.
* ''Bhakti'' traditions: Dattatetreya's theology emphasizing simple life, kindness to all, questioning the status quo, self pursuit of knowledge and seeking spiritual meaning of life appealed to Bhakti sant-poets of Hinduism such as Tukaram and Eknath, during an era of political and social upheavel caused by Islamic invasion in the Deccan region of India. They reverentially mentioned Dattatreya in their poems. The use of his symbolism was one of the many syncretic themes of this period where the ideas of
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
and
Shaivism
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...
holistically fused in popular imagination.
* ''Mahanubhava Sampradaya'': Along with
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
, the Mahanubhavas consider Dattatreya as their divine inspiration. The Mahanubhava sampradaya, propagated by Sri Chakradhar Swami, has five Krishnas as the incarnations of god, of which Dattatreya is one. The followers of Mahanubhava philosophy revered him as their Adi Guru (the original Guru), as well as the early teachers in their tradition (Chakradhara, Gundama and Changadeva). They worship Dattatreya as single headed with two arms. He has a temple dedicated in Mahur by this tradition.
* Shri Guru Charitra tradition: This tradition follows from Shripad Shrivallabha and Shri Narasimha Saraswati. Two major Datta traditions were started by Shri Swami Samarth of Akkalkot and Shri Vasudevananda Saraswati alias Tembe Swami.
* ''Lal Padris'': another Hindu yogi group from western India with roots in the 10th-century and with ideas similar to Nath and Kanphata sampradaya, traces Dattatreya as the basis of their spiritual ideas.
* Around 1550 CE, Dattatreya Yogi taught the Dattatreya philosophy to his disciple Das Gosavi in Marathi. Das Gosavi then taught this philosophy to his two Telugu disciples Gopalbhatt and Sarvaved who studied and translated Das Gosavi's book of ''Vedantavyavaharsangraha'' into Telugu language. According to Prof. R. C. Dhere, Dattatreya Yogi and Das Gosavi are the original gurus in the Telugu Dattatreya tradition. Prof. Rao states that ''Dattatreya Shatakamu'' was written by Paramanandateertha who is equally important in his contributions to the Telugu tradition of Dattatreya. He was a proponent of
Advaita
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' (l ...
philosophy and dedicated his two epics, ''Anubhavadarpanamu'' and ''Shivadnyanamanjari'' to Shri Dattatreya. His famous ''Vivekachintamani'' book was translated into
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
by Nijashivagunayogi and Lingayat saint Shanatalingaswami translated this into Marathi.