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Dattatreya nama-mantra
ॐ दत्तात्रेयाय नमः
Oṁ Dattātreyāya Namaḥ
Simple reading: Om dat-taat-re-yaa-ya na-mah
About this mantra
Salutation to Dattatreya — son of Atri and Anasuya, in whom Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are honoured together; the adi-guru of the avadhuta tradition.
Meaning
Om, salutations to Dattatreya — datta, 'given', and Atreya, 'of Atri': the Lord given as a son to the sage and Anasuya. In him the tradition honours all three cosmic functions in a single guru's body. This is the avadhuta who called twenty-four things his teachers — earth, python, pigeon, child (Bhagavata Purana 11.7–9) — and the mantra asks for exactly that eye: the one that can learn from everything.
When to recite it
Datta Jayanti (Margashirsha Purnima) and Thursdays, the guru's day; recited before seeking guidance, meeting teachers, and by those learning from life's unlikely instructors.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- दत्तात्रेयायdattātreyāya
- to Dattatreya, son of Atri
- नमःnamaḥ
- I bow, salutations
Source: Traditional nāma-mantra (Datta tradition)