The supreme biographical + devotional text of the Datta sampradaya. Saraswati Gangadhar's 53-adhyaya Marathi composition (~1538 CE) on the lives + miracles of the first two Datta-avatars - Sri Sripada Sri Vallabha + Sri Narasimha Saraswati.
What - Sri Guru Charitre = "The Life of the Sri Guru". A 53-adhyaya, ~7500-verse Marathi text composed by Saraswati Gangadhar in ~1538 CE. The supreme biography of the Datta tradition - the lives + miracles of the first 2 Datta-avatars, Sripada Sri Vallabha + Narasimha Saraswati.
Author - Saraswati Gangadhar (~16th C). A direct disciple of Narasimha Saraswati's lineage. He composed the text under the patronage of Narasimha Saraswati's ongoing presence (Narasimha Saraswati had entered nija-ananda-samadhi at Kardali-vana in 1458 but was believed to remain available to his devotees).
Language - Marathi (Old Marathi with heavy Sanskrit). The text's ovi metre (one of the foundational Marathi metres) makes it eminently chantable. Most devotees read 1 adhyaya per day; 7 adhyayas in 7 days = one Saptaha-Parayana.
Why important - The Sri Guru Charitre is to Datta tradition what the Ramayana is to Vaishnavism - the supreme biographical text + the supreme stotra. Recited daily by Maharashtra + Karnataka Datta-bhaktas, especially around Datta Jayanti (Margashirsha Purnima).
Birthplace - Pithapuram (Andhra Pradesh) - Pithikapuram. Now a major Datta pilgrimage centre.
Mahasamadhi - Entered samadhi at Kuravapur (a small island in the Krishna river, Andhra-Karnataka border) at age 30. The samadhi is still active - a renowned tirthasthana.
Key feats - Lived briefly but radiantly. Performed miracles for devotees. Restored a brahmana's dead son to life. Cured the leprous. Predicted his own next incarnation (as Narasimha Saraswati) at the time of leaving the body.
Legacy - Pithapuram + Kuravapur are the 2 main Sripada-kshetras. Datta-bhaktas perform parikrama between the two during the Datta-jayanti week.
Birthplace - Karanjapura (modern Karanja Lad, Maharashtra). Born to a Smarta brahmana family.
Mahasamadhi - At age 80, walked into the Kardali-vana (banana grove) at the foot of Sri Shaila mountain (Andhra). Said: "I shall not die - I shall enter nija-ananda-samadhi. Come find me there." Believed to still be in continuous samadhi.
Key feats - Birth: was born with a fully-developed tongue (could only utter the syllable Om for the first year). At age 7, took sannyasa from Sri Krishna Saraswati (his guru). Traveled the Deccan + South India performing miracles. Established Ganagapura (modern Gulbarga district, Karnataka) as his principal seat for 25 years. Cured devotees, slew evil yatis, restored a brahmana's grain-stores 8-fold.
Legacy - Ganagapura is the supreme Datta-kshetra of South India. Pilgrims fast on Thursdays, bathe in the Sangam (confluence of Bhima + Amarja rivers), and offer prasadam at his nirgun-padukas (footprint-relics).
Adhyayas 1-4
Opening: Frame story
Naam-dharaka (the disciple-listener of the Charitre) approaches Sri Siddha Saraswati (a wandering avadhuta) and asks for the Datta tradition. Siddha Saraswati agrees to narrate the lives of Sripada Sri Vallabha + Narasimha Saraswati. The frame is set: Datta-tattva, then the avatars in succession.
Adhyayas 5-10
Sri Sripada Sri Vallabha's life
Birth at Pithapuram. Childhood miracles. Renunciation at young age. Pilgrimage to Kashi, Badrinath, Gaya. Establishment at Kuravapur. Miracles for devotees - the leprous brahmana cured, the brahmana's son restored to life, the niggardly householder's grain-stores multiplied. Departure into samadhi at age 30.
Adhyayas 11-15
Birth + childhood of Narasimha Saraswati
Birth at Karanjapura. The first year of utter speechlessness - only Om. The brahmopadesa at age 7 from Sri Krishna Saraswati. The sannyasa diksha. Mother's sorrow + the boy's words of comfort: "I shall not be separated; remember me + I shall come."
Adhyayas 16-22
Travels
Narasimha Saraswati travels across Maharashtra + Karnataka. Visits Audumbar (audumbara = the medicinal fig tree, sacred to Datta) on the banks of the Krishna. Performs penance there. Cures a leprous brahmana. Establishes Audumbar as a Datta-kshetra. Continues to Narsobawadi, Nrisinha-wadi (the confluence of Krishna + Panchaganga).
Adhyayas 23-30
Narsobawadi years
Settles at Narsobawadi for 12 years. Massive miracles. Devotees from far districts flock. The grain-store miracle (a niggardly householder's warehouses are filled 8-fold). The 16-step pinda-daan miracle (a devotee's pitri-paksha is performed at his sankalpa-niyog). The famous "vibhuti-prasadam" miracles.
Adhyayas 31-46
Ganagapura - 25 years
Moves to Ganagapura. Establishes the kshetra. 25 years of teaching + miracles. The Ganagapura Datta-padukas (nirgun-paduka - without form) become the centre of pilgrimage. Teaches the Saptaha-Parayana method. Most miracles + teachings of the Charitre are from this period. The Ganagapura Trishtha-Sthana-yatra (the 3-fold pilgrimage circuit) is established here.
Adhyayas 47-50
Yathuktam karyam - fulfilment of work
Narasimha Saraswati announces his coming entry into Kardali-vana nija-ananda-samadhi. Devotees lament. He consoles them - "I am not departing; I am entering samadhi. You shall still receive my grace through the padukas, through the Audumbar trees, through your sankalpa." Final teachings.
Adhyayas 51-53
Closing: Phala-shruti
Narasimha Saraswati walks into the Kardali-vana banana grove + enters samadhi. Saraswati Gangadhar (the author, as Naam-dharaka or his successor) closes the text with the phala-shruti. The promise of Datta's grace to all who read this Charitre with faith.
Beyond the 2 Charitre-avatars, Datta tradition recognises later avatars who continued the lineage. The 5 most significant:
The 3rd Datta-avatar per Manik-pantha tradition. Established Humnabad as a major Datta-kshetra. Wrote the Manik Prabhu's Vachananas + many bhajans in Marathi + Kannada. Samadhi at Humnabad.
One of the most-revered Datta-avatars of the modern period. Believed to be Sri Narasimha Saraswati himself, who emerged from Kardali-vana after ~370 years of samadhi. Devotees include Sri Shirdi Sai Baba (in some traditions). Wrote nothing; taught by darshan + mauna. The Akkalkot Swami temple is one of India's most-visited Datta-kshetras.
The first major Datta-avatar to compose Sanskrit + Marathi texts in the modern period. His Datta-stotras are recited by every Datta-bhakta. Established the Datta-yajna tradition. Settled at Garudeshwar (Gujarat) for his final years.
Identified by many traditions as a Datta-avatar (alongside his recognition as a Sufi pir + Avadhuta). Said by Sri Krishna Saraswati (Akkalkot lineage) to be a Datta-vibhuti. The largest cult by far among 20th-C Datta-bhaktas. See /wisdom/modern-saints for full bio.
Considered the most prominent 20th-century Datta-avatar of Karnataka. Born Krishna Bhat at Lad-Chinchili village (Karnataka). Took sannyasa from Sri Vidyaranya Bharati of Sringeri. Established Varadahalli ashram in the Sahyadris (Western Ghats) - one of the supreme Datta-kshetras of South India. Lived in austere brahmacharya, ate only what was offered, wrote prolifically in Kannada + Sanskrit. Entered nija-ananda-samadhi at Varadahalli on 19 April 1973 (Vaishakha Krishna Trayodashi).
The supreme 20th-century Datta-avatar of Karnataka. The Sri Shridhara samadhi-mandir at Varadahalli (Sagara taluk, Shimoga district) is the most-visited Datta-pilgrimage centre of South India.
Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya Sri Sri Sri Shridhara Swamigalu · श्रीधर स्वामिगळु
Birth - 7 December 1908 - Lad-Chinchili village (now in Belgaum district, Karnataka). Birth-name: Krishna Bhat.
Mahasamadhi - 19 April 1973 (Vaishakha Krishna Trayodashi, Friday). At age 64, having declared the moment in advance, Sri Shridhara Swamigalu entered nija-ananda-samadhi at Varadahalli. The samadhi-mandir (still active) is at Varadahalli - the most-visited Datta-pilgrimage centre of South India.
Childhood - Father: Naryana Bhat. Mother: Kamalabai. Childhood marked by spiritual precocity - drew Om + Sri-yantras at age 5; recited Bhagavad Gita by age 9. Lost his mother early. Walked from his village to Sajjanagad (Sant Ramdas's samadhi) at age 17, on foot, in a single year.
Initiation - Took sannyasa-diksha in 1942 at Shigehalli (near Sirsi, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka) from Sri Shivananda Swamigalu - Swami Shivananda Saraswati of the Shigehalli matha - into the Advaita sampradaya, and was honoured with the title "Shrimat Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya Bhagavan Sri Sridhara Swami." Remained a lifelong devotee of Samartha Ramdas and the Dasbodh.
Parivrajaka years - For the next 30 years, Sri Shridhara Swamigalu walked the entire Indian sub-continent (~5 times). Lived as a strict parivrajaka - never staying more than 3 nights in one place. Composed Sanskrit + Kannada works during these years.
Varadahalli - In 1957, settled at Varadahalli (Sagara taluk, Shimoga district, Karnataka). Established the Sri Sridhara Ashrama. Built the Vamana temple, the Vaikuntha Mahadwara, the Sat-Sanga-bhavan. Disciples streamed in from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra, Tamil Nadu, the Konkan, and abroad.
Teaching - Strict Advaitin in philosophy. Practical Datta-bhakta in devotion. Emphasised: (1) atma-nishtha - abidance in the Self; (2) seva - practical service; (3) anushthana - daily ritual + japa; (4) sad-grantha-pathana - reading sacred books daily; (5) brahmacharya for sannyasins, dharma-niyama for householders. Refused all photograph + film capture for the first 40 years of his sannyasa.
Major works
- Bhagavad Gita Bhashya (Kannada commentary)
- Krishna Karnamrita Bhashya
- Sri Sai Charitra Bhashya
- Numerous Sanskrit + Kannada stotras to Datta, Rama, Vishnu
- 21-volume Sri Shridhara Granthamala (collected works)
Final years - From 1969, Sri Shridhara Swamigalu remained at Varadahalli permanently. His samadhi was prepared by himself + his senior disciples (Sri Bhima Bhatta + others) over the final 2 years.
Pilgrimage - Varadahalli is reached via Sagara town (~32 km from Shimoga, ~370 km from Bangalore). Sajjanagad (Sant Ramdas's samadhi, near Satara, Maharashtra) is the secondary pilgrimage. Sri Shridhara Padukas are at both. Annual Sri Shridhara Punyatithi-utsava: 19 April (Vaishakha Krishna Trayodashi).
Modern relevance - In Karnataka + Konkan + Goa Brahmana communities, Sri Shridhara Swamigalu is the supreme 20th-century Datta-acharya. Many Karnataka brahmana families keep his photograph in their puja-griha alongside their kuladevata. His Sri Shridhara Stotram is recited daily by his devotees.
