Festivals · 2026

Dattatreya Jayanti 2026: Date and Puja

Also written Datta Jayanti or Dattatreya Swamy Jayanthi.

By Dr. R.P. Sharma, Vedic astrologer since 1979 · Ph.D. and Acharya in Jyotish · consulting online worldwide

Dattatreya is worshipped as the guru of gurus — the figure who, in the Bhagavata tradition, describes having taken twenty-four teachers from the natural world itself.

The observance is kept with a fast, a reading of the Guru Charitra where that tradition is followed, and puja performed in the evening as the Purnima is established.

Timings follow the New Delhi panchang. Tithi-based dates can shift by a day for other cities and for readers abroad — check your own city’s panchang.

Datta Jayanti 2026 timings

Computed on the Swiss Ephemeris. The tithi is the same moment everywhere; only the local clock changes.

Why Datta Jayanti is on 23 December, not 24

Bhagwan Dattatreya's birth is celebrated at dusk (pradosh) on Margashirsha Purnima. In 2026 the Purnima is running through the evening of Wednesday 23 December and has ended before sunrise on the 24th, so the 23rd is the only day it holds the evening. The janma utsav is kept from sunset that day:

How Datta Jayanti is kept, step by step

1. A morning bath and a sankalp to keep the fast; many keep it on fruit and milk until the evening puja.
2. Many families complete a reading of the Guru Charitra in the week leading up to the Purnima.
3. In the evening, the image or padukas of Dattatreya are bathed, dressed and offered flowers, tulsi and naivedya.
4. The naam-smaran Digambara Digambara Shripad Vallabha Digambara is chanted, with the Datta stotra or bhajans.
5. At dusk the janma utsav: a cradle is rocked for the newborn Datta, followed by aarti and prasad.
6. The fast is broken after the aarti, or the next morning, as your family tradition holds.

Where it is celebrated

The day is observed most widely in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat, with large gatherings at the Datta shrines of Ganagapur, Narsobawadi, Audumbar, Pithapuram and Girnar.

Dattatreya and the guru principle

As the combined form of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, Dattatreya is the adi-guru, and the day is kept as a guru-puja. In a kundli the guru principle is read through Jupiter, the ninth house and its lord — a devotional day is a natural moment to reflect on teachers and learning. A chart-specific question is best taken to a consultation; the kundli and its 90-page PDF are free.

Frequently asked questions

When is Dattatreya Jayanti in 2026?

Dattatreya Jayanti 2026 falls on Wednesday, 23 December 2026, on Margashirsha Purnima.

Is Datta Jayanti on 23 or 24 December 2026?

On Wednesday, 23 December 2026. The Margashirsha Purnima runs from 10:48 AM on 23 December to 6:59 AM IST on 24 December, so it holds the evening only on the 23rd, and the Datta janma utsav is kept at dusk.

What time is the Datta Jayanti puja in 2026?

In the evening of 23 December 2026, from sunset — 5:30 PM in New Delhi, 6:07 PM in Mumbai, 6:04 PM in Pune — while the Purnima is running (it ends at 6:59 AM IST on 24 December).

Who is Bhagwan Dattatreya?

Dattatreya is worshipped as the combined form of the trimurti — Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva — and as the guru of gurus. The tradition holds he took twenty-four teachers from the natural world.

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