Pithapuram to Kuravapur
Sripada Srivallabha, traditionally placed in the fourteenth century, born at Pithapuram in the East Godavari country of Andhra Pradesh, and counted in the Datta sampradaya as the first full human avatara of Dattatreya.
What the tradition says
That he was born to Appala Raju Sharma and Sumati Maharani at Pithapuram, that he was extraordinary from childhood, and that at about sixteen he left home over his parents' objection.
And then a route. Badrinath in the north. Gokarna on the Konkan coast, where he is said to have stayed three years. Sri Shailam. And finally Kuravapur.
Kuravapur
Which is worth describing because it is unusual and because it is still there.
It is an island in the Krishna river, in the Raichur country of Karnataka near the Telangana border, and it is small, and it is reached by boat.
Not a ferry. A coracle, or a small boat, depending on the river.
And when the Krishna is in flood the island is not reachable at all, which is a fact that matters if you are planning to go, and which is also the reason the place stayed obscure for a very long time while other Datta centres grew.
He is said to have remained there and to have entered the river around the middle of the fourteenth century.
What Dattatreya is, briefly
Because a reader coming to this cold needs it.
Dattatreya is the son of Atri and Anasuya, and he is held to combine Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in one figure, which is why the standard image has three heads and six arms carrying the emblems of all three.
Around him: four dogs, taken as the four Vedas; a cow, taken as the earth; and behind him the audumbar, the cluster fig, which is his tree and which is why Datta shrines are built at audumbar trees.
He is an avadhuta, meaning outside the ordinary categories of ashrama and observance, and the Avadhuta Gita attributed to him is one of the most severe non dual texts in Sanskrit. The twenty four gurus he names in the Bhagavata, learned from animals, elements and ordinary objects, are his best known teaching and have their own entry.
And in western and southern India he is not primarily a philosophical figure but a living presence with shrines, weekly observance and a large sampradaya.
The avatar sequence
The Datta sampradaya recognises a line of human incarnations, and Sripada Srivallabha is the first.
After him, Nrisimha Saraswati of Karanja and Ganagapur, who is the subject of the next entry.
And after that the branches differ. Some count Swami Samarth of Akkalkot. Some count Manik Prabhu. Some count others. The list is not fixed and different centres give different sequences, which a reader should know before being told that the succession is settled.
Thursday
Which is Datta's day.
In Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and coastal Andhra, Thursday is when the Datta observance happens: the shrine visit, the padukas, the reading, the lamp at the audumbar.
And Datta Jayanti falls on the full moon of Margashirsha, which has its own entry.
The Book Is the Harder Question
And this is the section that a devotional site owes a reader, because the material about Sripada Srivallabha available in shops and online is dominated by one text whose history is not simple.
The two sources
One. The Gurucharitra.
Saraswati Gangadhar's Marathi work, of roughly the fifteenth or sixteenth century, which is the foundational text of the Datta sampradaya. Its early chapters deal with Sripada Srivallabha, and then the bulk of it is about Nrisimha Saraswati.
This is an old text, its manuscript tradition is established, and it is what the sampradaya was built on.
Two. The Sripada Srivallabha Charitamrutam.
Attributed to Shankar Bhatt, presented as an eyewitness account by a contemporary, and it is by a long way the most detailed source: a full life, extensive dialogue, named individuals, and a great deal of predictive material.
And its documented history is modern.
It came into circulation and print in the twentieth century, from a manuscript said to have been preserved at Pithapuram, and there is no established manuscript tradition running back to the fourteenth century.
How to hold that
Carefully, and without either of the two bad moves.
The first bad move is to say the text is therefore fake and worthless.
It is not worthless. It is the living scripture of a large sampradaya, it is read as parayan, and it structures the devotional life of a great many households. A text's importance is not a function of its age.
The second bad move is to present it as a fourteenth century eyewitness record, which is how it is generally sold.
Because that claim cannot be supported and a reader is entitled to know that before they build on it.
The honest position
Read it as devotional literature of uncertain date.
Which is what most Indian hagiography is, including some of the most important. The Bhaktavijaya is eighteenth century material about thirteenth century people. The Chaitanya Charitamrita is decades after its subject. The lives of Kabir come from traditions that disagree with each other about everything.
This series has taken the same position throughout. The value of a hagiography is not that it is a police report. It is that it tells you what a tradition believes about itself and what it wants a devotee to become.
And on that measure the Charitamrutam is genuinely worth reading, and a reader who understands what kind of book it is will get more out of it than one who has been told it is a court document.
One specific caution
The predictive material.
Texts of contested date that contain predictions about later events are a recurring category, and the predictions are the part most likely to have been written after the events.
Which does not make the book bad. It does mean that a reader should not organise their life around a prophecy in it, and should be particularly careful of anybody who uses a prediction in it to authorise themselves.
Which is the same warning the Garibdas entry gives about the Sat Granth, and for the same structural reason: a large, difficult, unfalsifiable text with a gap in it is exactly what somebody with an interest looks for.
Going There
Both places, because they are very different journeys.
Pithapuram
In Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, easy to reach, with rail and road connections.
The Sripada Srivallabha Maha Samsthanam is there, built in the modern period at the site associated with his birth, and it is now a substantial temple with accommodation, prasadam and organised darshan.
Pithapuram is also a Shakti Peetha, associated with Puruhutika Devi, and the Kukkuteswara Swamy temple is there, so the town has more than one reason to go.
Kuravapur
Harder, and worth planning properly.
It is an island in the Krishna in Raichur district, Karnataka. The usual approach is via Atkur or the nearby villages, and then across the water.
And here are the practical points, which matter more than usual here.
- The crossing is by small boat or coracle, not a ferry with a schedule
- In the monsoon, and whenever the Krishna is high or the upstream dams are releasing, the island is not accessible, and people have drowned trying
- Do not push a boatman to cross in bad water. He knows and you do not
- Wear a life jacket if one is available, and do not overload the boat
- There is very little on the island. Carry water. Carry what you need
- Go in the dry season, roughly November to February, which is also the pleasant part of the year there
- Check locally on the day. The river changes
Drowning at pilgrimage sites is one of the most common and most preventable causes of death in Indian religious travel, and a river crossing to a small island is exactly the situation where it happens.
What people do at Datta shrines
The practice is simple and consistent across the sampradaya.
- Thursday, which is Datta's day
- The padukas, the sandals, which are the object of worship at Datta shrines rather than an image, at Kuravapur, Narsobawadi, Ganagapur and Audumbar
- The audumbar tree, circumambulated, with a lamp
- Datta Jayanti on the Margashirsha full moon
- Guru Charitra parayan, which the next entry covers, since it belongs with Nrisimha Saraswati
- Digambara Digambara Sripada Vallabha Digambara, which is the Datta sampradaya's central chant and which is what you will actually hear at any of these shrines
Where to go
- Pithapuram, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh
- Kuravapur, Raichur district, Karnataka, in the dry season only
- Gokarna, Karnataka, associated with his three years there
- Ganagapur, Narsobawadi and Audumbar, for the next figure in the line
A daily practice from this entry
- Digambara Digambara Sripada Vallabha Digambara
- A lamp on Thursday, at an audumbar if there is one near you
- And the reading habit this entry argues for, which applies to every hagiography including the ones this series admires: know what kind of book you are holding, and read it as that
The Short Version
Who: Sripada Srivallabha, traditionally placed in the fourteenth century, born at Pithapuram in the East Godavari country of Andhra Pradesh to Appala Raju Sharma and Sumati Maharani, and counted in the Datta sampradaya as the first full human avatara of Dattatreya. The tradition says he left home at about sixteen over his parents' objection and travelled to Badrinath, then Gokarna on the Konkan coast where he is said to have stayed three years, then Sri Shailam, and finally Kuravapur, an island in the Krishna river in the Raichur country of Karnataka near the Telangana border, where he remained and where he is said to have entered the river around the middle of the fourteenth century. The island is small and reached by coracle or small boat, and when the Krishna is in flood it is not reachable at all, which is why the place stayed obscure for a long time while other Datta centres grew.
Dattatreya: the son of Atri and Anasuya, held to combine Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in one figure, which is why the standard image has three heads and six arms carrying the emblems of all three, with four dogs taken as the four Vedas, a cow taken as the earth, and behind him the audumbar or cluster fig, which is his tree and is why Datta shrines are built at audumbar trees. He is an avadhuta, outside the ordinary categories of ashrama and observance, the Avadhuta Gita attributed to him is one of the most severe non dual texts in Sanskrit, and his twenty four gurus learned from animals, elements and ordinary objects are his best known teaching. The sampradaya recognises a line of human incarnations beginning with Sripada Srivallabha and continuing with Nrisimha Saraswati of Karanja and Ganagapur, after which the branches differ, some counting Swami Samarth of Akkalkot, some Manik Prabhu, some others, so the list is not fixed.
The sources, and this is the harder question: there are two. The Gurucharitra, Saraswati Gangadhar's Marathi work of roughly the fifteenth or sixteenth century, is the foundational text of the sampradaya, with early chapters on Sripada Srivallabha and the bulk on Nrisimha Saraswati; it is old, its manuscript tradition is established, and the sampradaya was built on it. The Sripada Srivallabha Charitamrutam, attributed to Shankar Bhatt and presented as a contemporary eyewitness account, is by a long way the most detailed source, with a full life, extensive dialogue, named individuals and a great deal of predictive material, and its documented history is modern: it came into circulation and print in the twentieth century from a manuscript said to have been preserved at Pithapuram, with no established manuscript tradition running back to the fourteenth century.
How to hold that: without either bad move. It is not fake and worthless, since it is the living scripture of a large sampradaya, read as parayan, structuring the devotional life of many households, and a text's importance is not a function of its age. And it should not be presented as a fourteenth century eyewitness record, which is how it is generally sold, because that claim cannot be supported. Read it as devotional literature of uncertain date, which is what most Indian hagiography is, including the most important: the Bhaktavijaya is eighteenth century material about thirteenth century people, the Chaitanya Charitamrita is decades after its subject, and the lives of Kabir come from traditions that disagree about everything. The value of a hagiography is not that it is a police report but that it tells you what a tradition believes about itself. One specific caution: the predictive material, since texts of contested date containing predictions about later events are a recurring category and the predictions are the part most likely written after the events, so do not organise your life around a prophecy in it and be careful of anybody using one to authorise themselves, which is the same warning the Garibdas entry gives about the Sat Granth.
Going there: Pithapuram, in Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, is easy to reach by rail and road, and the Sripada Srivallabha Maha Samsthanam there is now a substantial temple with accommodation, prasadam and organised darshan; the town is also a Shakti Peetha associated with Puruhutika Devi and has the Kukkuteswara Swamy temple. Kuravapur is harder and needs planning: the usual approach is via Atkur or nearby villages and then across the water, the crossing is by small boat or coracle rather than a scheduled ferry, and in the monsoon or whenever the Krishna is high or upstream dams are releasing the island is not accessible and people have drowned trying. Do not push a boatman to cross in bad water, wear a life jacket if available, do not overload the boat, carry your own water since there is very little on the island, go in the dry season from roughly November to February, and check locally on the day. Drowning at pilgrimage sites is one of the most common and most preventable causes of death in Indian religious travel.
What people do at Datta shrines: Thursday, which is Datta's day; the padukas, the sandals, which are the object of worship rather than an image, at Kuravapur, Narsobawadi, Ganagapur and Audumbar; the audumbar tree, circumambulated, with a lamp; Datta Jayanti on the Margashirsha full moon; Guru Charitra parayan; and Digambara Digambara Sripada Vallabha Digambara, which is the sampradaya's central chant and what you will actually hear at any of these shrines.
Quick Answers
Who was Sripada Srivallabha?+
A figure traditionally placed in the fourteenth century, born at Pithapuram in the East Godavari country of Andhra Pradesh to Appala Raju Sharma and Sumati Maharani, and counted in the Datta sampradaya as the first full human avatara of Dattatreya. The tradition says he left home at about sixteen over his parents' objection and travelled to Badrinath, then Gokarna where he is said to have stayed three years, then Sri Shailam, and finally Kuravapur, an island in the Krishna river in the Raichur country of Karnataka, where he remained and where he is said to have entered the river around the middle of the fourteenth century. The sampradaya's line of human incarnations continues with Nrisimha Saraswati of Karanja and Ganagapur, after which branches differ, some counting Swami Samarth of Akkalkot, some Manik Prabhu, so the list is not fixed.
Is the Sripada Srivallabha Charitamrutam a fourteenth century text?+
Its documented history is modern. The text is attributed to Shankar Bhatt and presented as a contemporary eyewitness account, and it is by a long way the most detailed source on Sripada Srivallabha, with a full life, extensive dialogue, named individuals and a great deal of predictive material. But it came into circulation and print in the twentieth century, from a manuscript said to have been preserved at Pithapuram, and there is no established manuscript tradition running back to the fourteenth century. Hold that without either bad move: it is not fake and worthless, since it is the living scripture of a large sampradaya, read as parayan, and a text's importance is not a function of its age; and it should not be presented as a fourteenth century eyewitness record, which is how it is generally sold, because that claim cannot be supported. Read it as devotional literature of uncertain date, which is what most Indian hagiography is. The older source is the Gurucharitra of Saraswati Gangadhar, of roughly the fifteenth or sixteenth century, whose early chapters deal with him.
Who is Dattatreya?+
The son of Atri and Anasuya, held to combine Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in one figure, which is why the standard image has three heads and six arms carrying the emblems of all three. Around him are four dogs, taken as the four Vedas, a cow, taken as the earth, and behind him the audumbar or cluster fig, which is his tree and is why Datta shrines are built at audumbar trees. He is an avadhuta, meaning outside the ordinary categories of ashrama and observance, and the Avadhuta Gita attributed to him is one of the most severe non dual texts in Sanskrit, while the twenty four gurus he names in the Bhagavata, learned from animals, elements and ordinary objects, are his best known teaching. In western and southern India he is not primarily a philosophical figure but a living presence with shrines, weekly observance on Thursdays and a large sampradaya.
How do I visit Kuravapur safely?+
Plan it properly, because this is a river crossing to a small island and those are where drownings happen. Kuravapur is an island in the Krishna in Raichur district, Karnataka, usually approached via Atkur or nearby villages and then across the water by small boat or coracle rather than a scheduled ferry. In the monsoon, and whenever the Krishna is high or upstream dams are releasing, the island is not accessible and people have drowned trying. Do not push a boatman to cross in bad water, since he knows and you do not. Wear a life jacket if one is available and do not overload the boat. Carry your own water and whatever else you need, because there is very little on the island. Go in the dry season, roughly November to February, which is also the pleasant part of the year there. And check locally on the day, because the river changes. Drowning at pilgrimage sites is one of the most common and most preventable causes of death in Indian religious travel.
What is the practice at Datta shrines?+
Simple and consistent across the sampradaya. Thursday is Datta's day, and in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and coastal Andhra that is when the observance happens. The object of worship at Datta shrines is the padukas, the sandals, rather than an image, at Kuravapur, Narsobawadi, Ganagapur and Audumbar. The audumbar tree is circumambulated with a lamp, since it is Datta's tree. Datta Jayanti falls on the full moon of Margashirsha. The Guru Charitra is read as parayan. And the central chant, which is what you will actually hear at any of these shrines, is Digambara Digambara Sripada Vallabha Digambara.
Should I trust predictions found in devotional texts?+
Be careful with them, for a structural reason rather than a hostile one. Texts of contested date that contain predictions about later events are a recurring category, and the predictions are the part most likely to have been written after the events they describe. That does not make the book bad or the tradition dishonest. It does mean a reader should not organise their life around a prophecy in it, and should be particularly careful of anybody who uses a prediction in it to authorise themselves, since a large, difficult, unfalsifiable text with a gap in it is exactly what somebody with an interest looks for. The same warning applies to the Sat Granth of Garibdas and for the same reason. The general reading habit is the one this entry argues for and it applies to every hagiography, including the ones this series admires: know what kind of book you are holding, and read it as that.
About the author
Pandit Ravindra Sharma · Vedic Rituals & Bhakti, 22+ years
Pandit Ravindra is the Vandnaa editorial team's resident specialist on aarti, chalisa, and daily devotion. He has performed home and temple pujas across Varanasi and Delhi for over two decades and contributes the bhakti-focused articles on this site.
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