Obviously, there can be no reservation in being nude in front of infants! She fed them in that condition and thus satisfied the conditions of modesty as well as athithi bhojana (feeding guests). They got transformed into three infants by the power of her pious devotion to her husband. She meditated on her husband and sprinkled Holy Water from his kamandal (a sort of water container kept by sages) on the three mendicants. But, at the same time, as a pious and modest wife of a sage, she cannot even think of being nude in front of grown up strangers. The mendicants imposed the condition that they will partake meals only on one condition that Anusuyaa should serve them stark naked!Īnusuyaa Devi was in a moral fix.According to customs of those times in hermitages (even normal households for that matter!), an athithi was never to be turned away without feeding him. Sages Anusuya offered them the traditional respects due to athithis, and requested them to partake meals in the hermitage. The Trimurti's took the form of mendicants and went as athithis to the hermitage of Sage Atri when He was not there. The Goddesses requested the Trimurthies to test her virtues. Sage Naarada was extolling Her virtues to Goddesses Saraswathy, Lakshmi, and Parvathi. The wife of Sage Atri was known for Her Piety and virtues. He is a Divine Form who can be easily pleased by mere remembrance of Him ("smarana maatra santushtaaya!") He is an Aadi Guru of the avadhoota sampradaaya. Shri Guru Dattatreya is an incarnation possessing the Divine attributes of the Trimurtis (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) with Sage Atri and the sage's Wife Anusuyaa Devi as His parents.
Dattatreya Jayanti is celebrated on the full moon day of Margashirsh month of the Hindu calendar. Datta Jayanti is a celebration of the birth of the Vedic God Datta.