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Dattātreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatāra: A Study of the Transformative and Inclusive Character of a Multi-Faceted Hindu Deity
Contributor(s): Rigopoulos, Antonio (Author)

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 ISBN: 0791436969     ISBN-13: 9780791436967
Publisher: State University of New York Press
OUR PRICE: $35.10  

Binding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & Editions
Published: April 1998
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Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks

Click for more in this series: Suny Series, Religious Studies
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Religion | Hinduism - General
Dewey: 294.521
LCCN: 97-21244
Series: Suny Series, Religious Studies
Physical Information: 0.77" H x 5.85" W x 8.87" L (1.03 lbs) 342 pages
Themes:
- Religious Orientation - Hindu
Features: Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
This book presents the multi-faceted Hindu deity Dattatreya from his Puranic emergence up to modern times. Dattatreya's Brahmanical portrayal, as well as his even more archaic characterization as a Tantric antinomian figure, combines both Vaisnava Saiva motifs. Over the course of time, Dattatreya has come to embody the roles of the immortal guru, yogin and avatara in a paradigmatic manner. From the sixteenth century Dattatreya's glorious characterization emerged as the incarnation of the trimurti of Brahma, Visnu, and Siva. Although Maharastra is the heartland of Dattatreya devotion, his presence is attested to throughout India and extends beyond the boundaries of Hinduism, being met with in Sufi circles and even in Buddhism and Jainism via Nathism.

The scarce attention which most Western scholars of Indian religions have paid to this deity contrasts with its ubiquitousness and social permeability. Devotion to Dattatreya cuts through all social and religious strata of Indian society: among his adepts we find yogis, Brahmans, faqirs, Devi worshippers, untouchables, thieves, and prostitutes. This book explores all primary religious dimensions: myth, doctrine, ritual, philosophy, mysticism, and iconography. The comprehensive result offers a rich fresco of Hindu religion as well as an understanding of Marathi integrative spirituality: precisely this complexity of themes constitutes Dattatreya's uniqueness.
 
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