“O Lord Dattatreya, ocean of compassion, we seek Your grace. You alone are our Guru and protector.” Every human being, knowingly or unknowingly, makes mistakes every day. These are not sins in the criminal sense, but natural shortcomings that arise while living a life of devotion. When a devotee sincerely wishes to worship God or serve the Guru but fails to do so, such spiritual mistakes should be confessed with humility, seeking the Guru’s forgiveness.
In the entire universe, the Guru of all Gurus is Lord Dattatreya. One of His most beloved devotees, Shri Vasudevananda Saraswati (Tembe Swami Maharaj) of Garudeshwar, composed a deeply emotional prayer known as the Karunā-Tripadī, seeking forgiveness for spiritual faults. Anyone desiring Lord Dattatreya’s grace is encouraged to chant this hymn daily.
Shri Dattatreya’s divine spiritual centre is Narsobachi Wadi, where Shri Narasimha Saraswati lived for twelve years. His sacred footprints (*Padukas*) remain beneath a powerful Audumbar tree on the banks of the Krishna River. The daily rituals and festivals here were personally established by Tembe Swami Maharaj. Except during Chaturmas, a daily evening palanquin procession is carried out according to his instructions.
In 1905, during one such procession, the priest accidentally dropped the deity. Panic spread, and the priests rushed to Tembe Swami Maharaj, who was then at Narsi (Hingoli district) observing Chaturmas. Swami Maharaj went into meditation and perceived Lord Dattatreya’s displeasure:
“They do not follow the rules you established. They place impure offerings on My Padukas. They speak ill of you. We no longer wish to remain there.”
No Guru tolerates disrespect toward a devoted disciple. In Nath tradition, dishonouring the Guru is dishonouring the entire lineage. Tembe Swami Maharaj warned the priests that if they did not correct their behaviour, unimaginable consequences would follow. Terrified, they begged for forgiveness. Out of compassion, Swami Maharaj prayed intensely, and at that moment composed the Karunā-Tripadī, instructing its daily recitation after the evening Aarti.
In the final verse, Swami Maharaj prays: “O Lord Dattatreya, keep me forever at Your feet. Let me serve You with love and devotion.”
The hymn expresses: * the devotee’s shortcomings * the longing for forgiveness * the truth that only God can protect * the plea for constant guidance and grace
Today, this hymn is sung daily in many Dattatreya temples, and countless devotees testify to its miraculous spiritual influence.
The Karunā-Tripadī is regarded as: * deeply emotional, * spiritually potent, * filled with divine energy, * a perfect expression of surrender and repentance.
Because it was composed by Tembe Swami Maharaj, a saint of extraordinary spiritual stature, the hymn carries immense transformative power.
शांत हो श्रीगुरुदत्ता, मम चित्ता शमवी आतां ॥ ध्रु.॥
तूं केवळ माता जनिता, सर्वथा तूं हितकर्ता। तूं आप्तस्वजन भ्राता, सर्वथा तूंचि त्राता। भयकर्ता तूं भयहर्ता, दंडधर्ता तूं परिपाता। तुजवांचुनि न दुजी वार्ता। तू आर्ता आश्रय दत्ता ॥१॥
अपराधास्तव गुरुनाथा, जरि दंडा धरिसी यथार्था। तरि आम्हीं गाउनि गाथा, तव चरणीं नमवूं माथा। तूं तथापि दंडिसि देवा, कोणाचा मग करुं धावा। सोडविता दुसरा तेव्हां। कोण दत्ता आम्हां त्राता ॥२॥
तूं नटसा होउनि कोपी, दंडितांहि आम्ही पापी। पुनरपिही चुकत तथापि, आम्हांवरि न च संतापी। गच्छतः स्खलनं क्वापि, असें मानुनी नच होऊ कोपी। निजकृपा लेशा ओपी। आम्हांवरि तूं भगवंता ॥३॥
तव पदरीं असता ताता, आडमार्गीं पाउल पडतां। सांभाळुनि मार्गावरता, आणिता न दुजा त्राता। निज बिरुदा आणुनि चित्ता, तूं पतितपावन दत्ता। वळे आतां आम्हांवरता। करुणाघन तू गुरुनाथा ॥४॥
सहकुटुंब सहपरिवार, दास आम्ही हें घरदार। तव पदी अर्पूं असार। संसाराहित हा भार। परिहरिसी करुणासिंधो, तूं दीनानाथ सुबंधो। आम्हां अघलेश न बाधो। वासुदे-प्रार्थित दत्ता ॥५॥
Tembe Swami Maharaj offered humanity a priceless spiritual tool — a direct path to Lord Dattatreya’s compassion. Through daily chanting of the Karunā-Tripadī, devotees experience inner peace, relief from suffering, spiritual connection, and divine protection.
Let us recite this sacred prayer with devotion and say: “O Lord Dattatreya, grant us a permanent place at Your holy feet.”
Shri Gurudev Datta!