Vasudevanand Saraswati

Who was Vasudevanand Saraswati?

Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati, also known as Tembe Swami is a saint, who is regarded as an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya.

His parents were devotees of Lord Dattatreya, his father Shri Ganesh Bhatt Tembe spending years together in the remote Ganagapur temple of the Lord in Karnataka. His mother Ramabai also used to spend her time in religious pursuits like japa, pradakshina, path, atithisatkar etc. After a particularly long stay in Ganagapur, Lord Dattatreya appeared in a dream and instructed Shri Ganesh Bhataji to return to Mangaon and lead the life of a householder, promising to incarnate as their son. It was after his return from Ganagapur that his eldest son Vasudeo was born on Shravan Vadya 5, Shalivahan Shaka 1776, 26 ghatika after sunrise at Mangaon, near Sawantvadi, Maharashtra to this Karhade Brahmin family.

At the age of three years, Vasudeo started attending the private school held in the Yakshini temple in the village. He had to learn writing with his fingers on a layer of dust, a very tiring and painful practice. Apart from the secular education in the school, Vasudeo also received traditional oral education from his grandfather Hari Bhataji.