Dattatreya Upanishad

The author and composition date of the text are unknown. Rigopoulos states it is a tantric sectarian work, with a mix of Vaishnavism and Shaktism ideas. Given this sectarian nature, and the description of tantric mantras in the text, it is likely a relatively late Upanishad. Sectarian Upanishads with tantra mantras were likely composed after the 10th century, states Douglas Brooks. Patrick Olivelle states that sectarian Upanishads attached to Atharvaveda were likely composed in the 2nd-millennium, until about the 16th century. Rigopoulos states that the text likely was written in perhaps the 14th or 15th century CE, after Dattatreya sampradaya (monastic group) within Vaishnavism was well established. ==Title==

The text is named after sage Dattatreya. He appears in several Upanishads, states Rigopoulos, because he symbolizes the mastery of Yoga and the perfectly liberated individual (Avadhuta) in ancient and medieval Hindu texts. ==Content==

The Dattatreya Upanishad is divided into three khandas or sections. The first section opens with the creator god Brahma asking the god Vishnu (Narayana) how to overcome samsara, the cycle of birth-death-rebirth. Vishnu replies that he is Dattatreya (Datta), the Supreme God and one should meditate on Vishnu in the form of Dattatreya to free oneself from samsara. After following Vishnu's advice of meditating upon him as Dattatreya, asserts the text, Brahma realizes that the infinite and peerless Brahman is realized, as the residuum after one meditates neti, neti ("not this, not this") negation process on the phenomenal universe. The text presents various mantras of Dattatreya. The single-syllable mantra is considered the important mantra in Tantra for a deity. Dattatreya's dam is described as the hamsa (swan), interpreted as the atman (soul) that dwells in all jivas (living beings). Its lengthened form dām is described to symbolize Parabrahman, the Supreme Brahman. The phoneme of dam, dram is popular in Dattatreya worship. The six-syllabled mantra "Om srim hrim klim glaum dram" is given. This mantra shows Tantric and Shakta influences, and contains a reference to Dattatreya's shakti (female counterpart), denoted by hrim. Srim denotes Lakshmi, Vishnu's consort/shakti, thus Dattatreya's shakti is in the mantra. The eight-syllabled "Dram Dattatreyaya namah" follows. It means 'dram obeisance to Dattatreya'. After the syllable mantras, the text presents the mantra – "Dattatreya Hare Krishna ..." – in Anustubh metre. It praises Dattatreya as Hari and Krishna, names of Vishnu. It identifies the god as an "antinomian ascetic", calling him a "crazy" (unmatta) bliss-dweller, a naked ascetic (digambara) and muni, a sage who has observed a vow of silence. It calls him a child and a Pishacha (demon), hinting towards his role as violator of moral laws. Finally, Dattatreya is called an ocean of knowledge, conveying his role as a great Teacher; this mantra is one of the most popular mantras of sage Dattatreya as a deity. The last khanda, in tradition of Upanishadic literature, tells the advantages of reading the text. He who learns the vidya (knowledge) and the mantras in the scripture is sanctified and earns the merit of reciting the Gayatri Mantra, the maha-rudra hymns and Om mantra numerous times, and is cleansed of all sin. Meditating on the mantra taught, asserts the text, leads the yogi to transmute, fuse with the supreme and realize god within himself. ==Reception==

The description of Dattatreya worship in the Dattatreya Upanishad, states Rigopoulos, is comparable to the reverence for goddesses described in various Shaktism-related Upanishads. ==Notes==