Dattatreya Jayanti

Significance and story

Dattatreya Jayanti is the observance of the appearance of Dattatreya. It falls on Margashirsha Purnima, and the observance is tied to the evening of that full moon. Because the day marks an appearance rather than a single historical event, the emphasis in most homes and maths is on remembering the life and teaching associated with Dattatreya, and on the full-moon evening as the time set apart for it.

Dattatreya is honoured as a teacher, and the observance is kept in that spirit — as a day for study, reflection and quiet attention rather than for elaborate display. The brief notes the observance simply as the appearance of Dattatreya; traditions that keep the day add their own readings, kirtan and recitation around that central fact. For a reader new to the festival, the useful thing to hold on to is this: it is a Margashirsha Purnima observance in honour of Dattatreya, kept most visibly in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, and it is observed in the evening.

How the date is fixed

The date is not a fixed Gregorian date. It is read from the panchang, and the panchang fixes it by Margashirsha Purnima — the full moon of that lunar month — with the observance attached to the evening. That is why the Gregorian date moves from year to year, and why the page shows the computed date for the current year rather than stating one in the text.

Two further points explain most of the confusion readers bring to festival dates. First, a tithi is a span measured from the moon's motion, not a clock day, so it can begin and end at times that do not line up with sunrise or sunset; where a festival is tied to an evening, the tithi must still be current at that time. Second, calendars differ. North Indian purnimanta reckoning and South Indian amanta reckoning name the months differently, and a tithi can be running in one city while it has already ended in another. For that reason the dates on this page are computed for New Delhi sunrise with Lahiri ayanamsha. If you live elsewhere, expect a possible one-day difference, and check a local panchang before fixing your own observance. Where traditions differ, the honest answer is that they differ; the date is not a single universal number.

Puja vidhi

Practice varies by family and region, and the brief does not prescribe a single sequence. What follows is the common shape of the observance, offered as a guide rather than a rule.

• Time: the evening of Margashirsha Purnima, the full-moon evening.
• Focus: Dattatreya — remembrance, recitation and listening, in keeping with the day as an appearance observance.
• Setting: a clean place of worship at home, or a temple or math associated with Dattatreya.
• Common elements: a lamp, a simple offering, recitation or kirtan, and reading or hearing the life and teaching of Dattatreya.
• Company: many observe it with family or in a group gathering, since the day is as much about teaching as about ritual.

Keep the scale of the observance to what you can do steadily. A quiet lamp and a period of recitation, done attentively, is a complete observance; there is no requirement of expense or display. If you wish to align your puja with a specific muhurat for your own location, a qualified jyotishi can read your chart and your local panchang and advise — this page does not give personal timings.

Regional variations

Dattatreya Jayanti is observed in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat. Within and beyond those states, the day is kept differently: some households centre it on recitation and kirtan, others on a temple visit, and others on reading the teaching associated with Dattatreya. Communities that follow Dattatreya as a teacher treat the day as one for study and satsang; communities that keep it as a vrat treat it as a day of restraint and remembrance.

Calendar reckoning also varies. Readers following an amanta calendar and those following a purnimanta calendar may name the month differently, and since the festival is tied to Purnima, the practical date usually agrees — but not always. Where a local tradition keeps the observance a day earlier or later, that is a difference of reckoning, not an error. The dates shown on this page are computed for New Delhi sunrise with Lahiri ayanamsha and are meant as a reliable common reference, not as a replacement for your local panchang.

What to avoid

• Do not treat the date as fixed across all cities; check a local panchang if the day matters to your household.
• Do not read the observance as a promise or a warning about health, money, marriage or legal matters. It is a day of remembrance and study, and nothing here should be taken as a prediction for an individual.
• Do not feel bound to an expensive or elaborate ritual. The day is kept by remembrance and recitation.
• Do not rely on this page for personal muhurat. For timings suited to your own chart and place, consult a qualified jyotishi.

For the current year's date and muhurat, see the computed listing on this page, which is drawn from the panchang for New Delhi sunrise with Lahiri ayanamsha.