Dattatreya, A Saint Revered as the Incarnation of Tri-murti

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As regard texts, there is not only complete unanimity in regard to his divine status as Lord Vishnu’s incarnation but such claim dated back to very early period. His divinity has been specifically alluded to in the great epic Mahabharata, a sixth century BC text. In his famous poem Shishupala-vadha, dated 650 AD, the well-known Sanskrit poet Magh alluded to Dattatreya as Lord Vishnu’s incarnation.

Far ahead of this position in such early texts, the popular worship tradition as also some of the subsequent Puranas perceive Dattatreya incarnating not merely Lord Vishnu but also Brahma and Shiva, the other Trinity gods that in early texts Soma and Durvasas, his brothers, are claimed to incarnate. This popular tradition, not perceiving in Soma and Durvasas elements of such divine status, seems to have assimilated in Dattatreya the incarnation aspects also of his two brothers, thus revering him as incarnating the entire Trinity : Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Later some myths, especially that in the Brahmanda Purana narrating how once Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva conjointly granted to Anasuya, in recognition to her rare services, her wish to take births as her sons, also supported this position. As the text has it, one Animandavya once cursed Ugrashravas that his head would burst and he would die before the sun rose. The enraged Silavati, Ugrashravas’s virtuous wife, commanded the sun by the power of her chastity not to ever rise.

The darkness eclipsed the universe endangering the very existence of man, animal and nature. Ultimately Anasuya persuaded Silavati to take back her curse and let the sun rise. When reached for expressing their gratitude for her help Anasuya wished that Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were born to her as her sons and the three Great Gods gave their assent.

However, besides such allusions these early texts do not allude to Dattatreya’s form or the figure’s anatomy. His three-faced and six-armed image seems to be a late cult inspired, perhaps by ‘Gurucharita’, a 1550 AD text by Saraswati Gangadhara, in which the author, as if seeking to justify Dattatreya’s Trinity-incarnating aspect, perceived his figure with three faces and six hands, the three sets having broad resemblances with Trinity Gods. Almost completely rigidified Saraswati Gangadhara’s image of Dattatreya also included a cow and the icons of four dogs around him.

Obviously, with three faces : the central one – the figure’s principal face, with the Vaishnava ‘tilaka’ mark revealing the identity of Vishnu, one on the left with ‘tri-netra’, the Shiva’s, and that on the right with ‘tri-punda’, the Brahma’s, this image completely adheres to the image-form as perceived in ‘Gurucharita’. The artist has conceived all three faces with identical coiffures except that on the left representing Shiva having attached to it the crescent and the river Ganga emerging from it.

Each of the three faces are endowed with great spiritual energy, oceanic sublimity, deep composure, divine aura and saintly bearing appropriate for a saint representing, not one, but all of the Trinity Gods. This Trinity aspect has been further emphasized by the attributes the figure has been conceived as carrying in the its six hands : in the upper two on the right and left, Lord Vishnu’s disc and conch, in the lower two, the Shiva’s trident and ‘damaru’ – double drum, and in the normal right, a rosary – Brahma’s main attribute, and the main tool of a saint’s commemoration, and thus Sant Dattatreya’s own.

The normal right hand has been conceived also as imparting ‘abhaya’ – freedom from fear, and the left, reveals a sense of absolute ease. He has retained the ‘pitambara’ – yellow lower wear typical of Lord Vishnu, Dattatreya’s main incarnating form; however, in conceiving his body colour the artist has adhered to the principles of colour-aesthetics and has alternated with his blue the reddish gold in delightful contrast to the blue of Shiva and Brahma. He has been painted as seated on a tiger skin. Highly innovative, instead a plain background he has painted the graphic sign of ‘AUM’ which further emphasizes his Trinity-aspect that the sacred syllable AUM has always symbolized.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

Oil painting technique – India centric

Oil painting is the most interesting technique in art. Unlike other paintings or art forms, oil painting is a process in which colored pigments are painted on the canvas with a drying oil medium as a binder. This medium helps colors blend beautifully to create layers and also makes them appear rich and dense. Several varieties of oil are used in this painting such as sunflower oil, linseed oil, etc., and depending on the quality of the oil, a particular consistency of the paint is developed. With the use of an oil medium, the painting gets a natural sheen on the surface which appears extremely attractive. India is famous for its old tradition of making oil paintings. This art form was brought by Europeans in the 18th century and is now practiced by almost all well-known artists. Nirmal, a small tribal town in the state of Telangana is the center of traditional oil paintings in India where the local people practice it with dedication. Most Indian artists still use the traditional technique of oil painting.

Canvas of the required size is prepared

The artists use either a wood panel or canvas made from linen or cotton. Sometimes the canvas is stretched onto the wooden frame to form a solid base, or cardboard may be used. The canvas is coated with a layer of white paint or chalk mixed with animal glue. This mixture is then smoothed and dried to form a uniform, textured surface. The wooden panel is more expensive and heavier but its solidity is an advantage in making detailed paintings with ease.

Sketch is drawn on the canvas

Now the artist starts to draw the subject of the painting on the canvas using the actual charcoal or a charcoal pencil. Sometimes, he may sketch with thinned paint as well.

Oil paint is applied using paint brushes or palette knives

Now that the rough sketch is prepared, the artist is now ready to paint. Oil paint, a special paint that contains particles of pigments suspended in a drying oil (usually linseed oil), is again mixed with oil to make it thinner for applying it on the canvas. Proper consistency of the paint is maintained to avoid its breakage. The most important rule for the application of oil paint is “Fat over lean” in which the first layer of paint is thin and later, thicker layers are applied. This means that each additional layer of paint contains more oil. This results in getting a stable paint film. Traditionally, paint was applied using paint brushes but now the artists also use palette knives to create crisp strokes. To paint using this technique, the edge of the palette knife is used to create textured strokes that appear different from that of a paintbrush. Sometimes, oil paints are blended simply using fingers for getting the desired gradation.

Smaller oil paintings, with very fine detail, are relatively easier to paint than larger ones. The most attractive feature of these paintings is the natural shiny appearance that is obtained on the surface because of the use of oil paint. The blending of colors looks extremely realistic and this is the reason why oil paintings are loved by everyone throughout the world.