Sripada Srivallabha was born to a pious couple named Ghandikota Appala Lakshmi Narasimha Raja Sharma and Sumathi Maharani as their third son. Sripada had two elder brothers named Sridhara Sharma (born blind) & Rama Raja Sharma (born lame), and three younger sisters – Srividyadhari, Radha & Surekha. Appala Raja Sharma was a great devotee of Lord Datta and lived the life of a priest.

One day, when Appala Raja Sharma was preparing for the anniversary (shrardha karma – a yearly ceremony to pay homage to the departed souls) of his father, a sage with a divine glow on his face came for seeking alms. Sumathi Maharani, moved by the lustre on His face, offered food to Him even though the Brahmins had not had their food. (During such rituals, the guests (Brahmins) who partake in such ceremonies are to be given the utmost priority, and no one else should be offered food until the rituals are over and Brahmins are fed.) Pleased by the gesture of Sumathi Maharani, the sage said, ‘Oh Mother, do you have any wishes?’ Sumathi Maharani prayed, ‘Since you called me Mother, I would be extremely blessed if I had a son of your light and radiance.’ Suddenly the sage turned into a sixteen-year-old boy and said, ‘Mother! I am Sripada Srivallabha. I myself will be born to you.’ Thus, Sripada announced his arrival to his mother, Sumathi Maharani, even before he was born.

The grandparents of Sripada Srivallabha once belonged to the Malayadri village of Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh state in India. Malladi Bapanna Avadhanulu a.k.a. Bapanaarya is the maternal grandfather, and Rajamamba is the maternal grandmother, of Sripada. Bapanaarya was also known as Satya Rusheeshwara (the upholder of truth). There was another great scholar by the name Malladi Sridhara Avadhanulu who was the brother of Rajamamba. Once Bapanaarya and Sridhara Avadhanulu performed a sacred yagna (fire) in ‘Ainavilli’ (a village in Andhra Pradesh) and were blessed with the appearance of Lord Ganapati during the poornahuti (sacred offering of completeness). This was witnessed by everyone present. Lord Ganapati accepted the offering and declared that he would be appearing as Sripada Srivallabha on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Sripadas Srivallabha’s Miraculous Birth Phenomena

It was on Ganesh Chaturthi day (celebrated as the day on which Lord Ganesha descended to Earth from Mount Kailasa with his mother Gowri/ Parvathi) in the year 1320 A.D, Tuesday, the 9th of September as per Gregorian calendar, that a son was born as their 3rd child to Sumathi Maharani and Appala Raja Sharma in Pithapuram. He came out of the mother’s womb as a dazzling illumination. Sumati Maharani fainted immediately after He was born. Auspicious musical notes from diverse musical instruments were heard from the labour room. After some time, an invisible voice warned all people to leave the room. Then the four Vedas, eighteen Puranas (the form of the holy scriptures) and holy persons arrived in the shape of brilliant lights to greet and honour Sripada. When Sripada was born, a cobra with three hoods appeared, and for the next eighteen days held its hoods as an umbrella of protection wherever He was.

Immediately after his birth, Sripada began chanting Omkara (the primordial sound of OM). Even while he was in the cradle, he used to speak at length in the language of Sanskrit. When he was a month old, he could walk freely. He was aptly given the name Sripada (Feet of God) because he carried the most sublime symbols of a conch and a wheel on his feet. Accompanied by his grandfather, he attended several councils of the scholars and fluently spoke about various Shastras (books containing manuals of instructions or standards of discipline)

From the time of his birth, Sripada appeared to different people in forms of different ages, often as a boy of sixteen years of age. He was also very humorous and playful, and he conducted many extraordinary supernatural acts from the age of one year. He did many miracles, changed outdated rituals, and transformed numerous people in the village of Pithikapuram. It is a beauty in the life of Sripada that when a person had deficiencies, and he healed them in miraculous ways, he always gave the karmic reasons for their flaws and suggested rectifications. He could see the past lives of the beings, and he even saw humans incarnating in the form of a bull or a cow. He also gave many prophecies and spoke about his future incarnations and of others.

Sripada stayed with his parents until he was 16 years old. When he first gave darshan as a sage to Sumathi Maharani (before he was born), he told her clearly that they should not think of performing his marriage after taking birth as Sripada, and if they tried to do, he would certainly leave the house. At the age of sixteen, when his parents asked him to marry, he replied, ‘I have greater purposes to fulfill; therefore, I seek your permission to leave the house.’ His mother, Sumathi, said, ‘You are the only able son we have. Your elder brothers, one blind, the other lame, cannot be offered a woman. If you do not marry and leave the house, our lineage will not continue. You are the only one.’ Then Sripada touched both his two brothers and made them normal in an instant. He gave eyesight to the eldest brother and took away the lameness from the other one. Then Sripada said, ‘Now your two sons are eligible for marriage. Please permit me to leave.’ He also explained that he has a sister called Vasavi (a female consort of Sripada). ‘She is the same essence taking to a female form.’ Saying thus, he left Pithikapuram and became an ascetic, a wandering mendicant.

About Vasavi aka Vasavi Devi or Vasavi Kanyaka Parameshwari:

She is the female aspect of the indwelling God, Vaasudeva (Lord Krishna, who is an avatar of Maha Vishnu was called Vaasudeva, denoting he is the son of Vasudev). Vasavi, the Universal Mother, is a virgin, meaning she is pure nature. Like Sripada, who is a youth of sixteen years, she is described as a woman of sixteen years, meaning sixteen dimensions. The World Mother is worshipped in various forms such as Durga, or Radha in the Krishna system. In South India, Vasavi is worshipped as Kanyaka Kumari (maiden).

To safeguard her purity from an assault of a demonic incarnation, Vasavi once walked into the fire, together with 112 couples from the Vaishya (businessmen) community. She then gave the promise that she will eternally stay with the Vaishya community and will provide them with her blessings as long as she is worshipped. Therefore, in India, in towns where there is a business community, there is usually a temple for Vasavi Kanyaka.

‘Wherever Vasavi Kanyakamba’s name is remembered, there Datta will live incognito.’
– Sripada

As a wandering mendicant, Sripada went to various places; his visit would be of significance to those places. He went mostly from Southeast Andhra Pradesh to Northeast India, through Karnataka and Maharashtra. He went to Varanasi (Benares, Kashi), to another center on the west coast called Gokarna, and to Srisailam. Sripada then settled at Kuruvapuram (today Kurugaddi, Kuruvapur) and stayed there until he was 30 years old, blessing his devotees. Kuruvapuram is located on an island in the Krishna River, at the border between Andhra Pradesh (today Telangana) and Karnataka. Many people came to him seeking help and were enlightened. He was teaching, healing, and many extraordinary revelations happened around him.

When he used to stay at Kuruvapuram, Sripada held his darbar (court) at either Kuruvapuram or Panch Dev Pahad (a place near Kuruvapuram). When the darbar was at Pancha Deva Pahad, Sripada had to cross River Krishna. When he walked on the river, miraculously, a lotus leaf would appear wherever he stepped. During his darbar times, prasad (consecrated food) was distributed to everyone who attended.

As a teacher of spirituality, he followed a particular schedule:
On Sundays he used to talk about Yoga Vidya (knowledge of yoga),
on Mondays about epics,
on Tuesdays about Upanishads (Hindu sacred treatises),
on Wednesdays he would explain the meaning of Vedas (religious text explaining the eternal path or Sanatana Dharma),
on Thursdays He taught about the Guru Tattva (Cosmic Teacher principle),
on Fridays about Srividya (Shri Vidya is a Hindu Tantric religious system devoted to the Goddess as Lalitha Tripurasundari) and He used to distribute rhizomes of turmeric to all women,
and on Saturdays He instructed about the worship of Lord Shiva.

Sripada Srivallabha used to spend the nights at the island Kuruvapuram, the other side of the river Krishna, and came to this bank every dawn. He used to take a bath, worship Lord Shiva and his son Ganesha, do Surya Namaskars (Salutations to Sun) on a rock, sit and meditate for some time and then conduct satsangs to humans. In the evenings, He would walk on top of the water and go back to the island. The place where He used to sit in Samadhi is currently the Nirguna Paaduka temple (the Holy footwear of Sripada is worshipped there). In the nights, many celestial beings came to meet Him, and He conducted satsangs for them. The banyan tree is the celestial portal.

Sripada says, ‘When I say I am Datta, I am Datta. When I say I am Datta Upaasaka (the one who worships Lord Datta), I am becoming Datta Upaasaka. When I say I am Sripada Srivallabha, I am becoming Sripada Srivallabha. What I wish will happen. Whatever way I am thinking, I am becoming that. That is My ‘Tatwam’ (principle/ phenomenon).’

He performed many miracles during his stay at Kuruvapuram, blessing many devotees. In his 30th year (1350 AD), Sripada declared in Kuruvapuram that he would disappear, but also announced that he lives forever: ‘My form will be concealed, but this Sripada Srivallabha will stand as an eternal reality.’ After saying this, He disappeared into the Krishna River and assured that He will be moving incognito in Kuruvapuram always.

Sripada gave the assurance that He will incarnate whenever dharma, the Law, touches the lowest level. Following that assurance, and following His incarnation, Lord Dattatreya took birth in five successive incarnations: 1. Narasimha Saraswati, 2. Manik Prabhu, 3. Swami Samarth of Akkalkot, 4. Shirdi Sai Baba and, most recently, 5. Sathya Sai Baba. These incarnations all serve to restore divine law and to protect his followers from downfall. He achieved this primary purpose of his incarnations by teaching, by giving examples, and, most of all, by creating situations that people had to experience to learn, adjust, and become elevated.