Dattatreya Upanishad
| Dattatreya Upanishad | ||
|---|---|---|
Veda Atharvaveda | | |
| Chapters | 3 | |
| Part of a series on |
| Vaishnavism |
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The Dattatreya Upanishad (
The Dattatreya Upanishad appears in the
The text is a Tantra and Vaishnava work, likely one of the relatively recent, 14th- or 15th-century CE era composition compared to other Upanishads.[4] The text presents a Vaishnava mantra that is the most popular mantra in Dattatreya tradition,[5][note 1] as well as a series of tantric mantras for the worship of sage Dattatreya, a form of Vishnu.[7] The text asserts that the worship of Vishnu, Narayana and Dattatreya leads one to the nature of Truth-Bliss-Knowledge.[8]
Date
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.[9] 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.[10]
Patrick Olivelle states that sectarian Upanishads attached to Atharvaveda were likely composed in the 2nd-millennium, until about the 16th century.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13]
Content
The Dattatreya Upanishad is divided into three khandas or sections. The first section opens with the creator god
The text presents various
The text says that "Dattatreyaya" stands for
After the syllable mantras, the text presents the mantra – "Dattatreya Hare Krishna ..." – in
The second khanda begins with the mala-mantra ("garland-mantra") of Dattatreya, "Om Namo Bhagavate Dattatreyaya ...", which is prescribed to be used in
The last khanda, in tradition of Upanishadic literature, tells the advantages of reading the text. He who learns the
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.[18]
Notes
- ^ a b The mantra in verse 1.7 of the Dattatreya Upanishad is,
dattatreya hare krsna unmattananda-dayaka
digambara mune bala pisaca jnana-sagara
Translation:
Oh Dattatreya, Hari, Krishna and the crazy bliss-bestower!
Oh, you clad in space [naked], the silent one,
the child, the demon, the ocean of knowledge!
– Translated by Antonio Rigopoulos.[6]
References
- ISBN 81-208-2086-X
- ^ Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, p. 557.
- ^ Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, pp. 561–564.
- ^ Rigopoulos 1998, pp. 69–70, 77.
- ^ a b Rigopoulos 1998, p. 74.
- ISBN 978-88-8453-264-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
- ^ Mahadevan 1975, pp. 216–217.
- ^ Rigopoulos 1998, p. 70.
- ISBN 978-0-226-07570-9.
- ISBN 978-0-19-954025-9.
- ^ Rigopoulos 1998, pp. 70, 77.
- ^ Rigopoulos 1998, pp. 64–71, 74.
- ^ a b c d (Rigopoulos 1998, pp. 70–74)
- ^ "Dattatreya Upanishad". Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ Tattvāloka. Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha Educational Trust. 2003.
- ^ a b Rigopoulos pp. 74–6
- ^ a b c (Rigopoulos 1998, p. 77)
Bibliography
- Deussen, Paul; Bedekar, V.M.; Palsule, G.B. (1 January 1997). Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1467-7.
- Hattangadi, Sunder (2000). "श्रीदत्तात्रेयोपनिषत् (Sri Dattatreya Upanishad)" (PDF) (in Sanskrit). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- Mahadevan, T. M. P. (1975). Upaniṣads: Selections from 108 Upaniṣads. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-1611-4.
- Rigopoulos, Antonio (1998). Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara: A Study of the Transformative and Inclusive Character of a Multi-faceted Hindu Deity. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3696-7.
External links
- Dattatreya Upanishad in Sanskrit
