While Dattatreya is the ultimate source, the text repeatedly states that the sadguru in human form is superior to all deities. Chapter 6 declares: “Guruśiṣya vinā dātā nāhī” (Without the guru and disciple, there is no liberator). This is not hyperbole but a soteriological axiom: the guru’s darśana (sight) alone removes karma; his sparśa (touch) annuls rebirth.
The Gurucharitra (c. 15th–16th century CE) is a Marathi hagiographical compendium detailing the life and miracles of Śrīpāda Śrīvallabha and Śrī Nṛsiṃha Sarasvatī, two early avatars of the deity Dattatreya. This paper argues that the text functions not merely as devotional biography but as a manual for living guru-centric spirituality. Through a literary, theological, and ritual analysis, this study demonstrates how the Gurucharitra constructs the figure of the sadguru (true guru) as the sole arbiter of liberation, delineates a systematic guru-kingship model, and serves as the liturgical backbone for the Guru-caritra-pāṭha (ritual recitation). The paper concludes that the text’s enduring authority in Maharashtra and beyond lies in its dialectical resolution of bhakti (devotion) and śāstra (scriptural law) under the absolute sovereignty of the living guru. 1. Introduction The Gurucharitra (literally “Life Story of the Guru”) occupies a unique position in the landscape of medieval Marathi religious literature. Unlike the Dnyaneshwari (a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita) or the Bhakti-Vijaya , the Gurucharitra is hagiography that functions as scripture. Attributed to the śaiṣya (disciple) Sayam (or Sāyām) Maharaj under the inspiration of the guru Nṛsiṃha Sarasvatī, the text is structured as a dialogue between the sage Siddha (disciple) and his interlocutor, Nāmadharak. gurucharitra
The Gurucharitra as a Foundational Hagiography: Narrative Theology, Ritual Performance, and the Construction of Guru-Kingship in the Dattatreya Tradition While Dattatreya is the ultimate source, the text
The paper introduces the concept of guru-kingship to capture the text’s political theology. Nṛsiṃha Sarasvatī is depicted as a sovereign who wields the rod ( daṇḍa ) of discipline, grants boons, issues edicts ( ājñā ), and even overrides caste law (e.g., elevating a low-caste devotee to Brahminhood). In Chapter 32, the guru instructs a Muslim court official: “The guru’s command is the only dharma.” This sacral sovereignty directly competes with—and supersedes—temporal kingship. 4. Ritual Performance: The Saptāha as Re-Enactment The Gurucharitra is not a text for silent reading. Its performative dimension is encoded in its very composition. The Gurucharitra (c