Dattatreya is one of the lords of Yoga in Hinduism. He is considered to be an avatar (incarnation) of the three Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, collectively known as Trimurti.

In the Nath tradition of Shaivism, Dattatreya is revered as the Adi-Guru (First Teacher) of  the         Adinath Sampradaya of the Nathas, the first “Lord of Yoga” with mastery of Tantra (techniques).

His pursuit of simple life, kindness to all, sharing of his knowledge and the meaning of life during his travels is reverentially mentioned in the poems by Tukaram, a saint-poet of the Bhakti movement Over time, Dattatreya has inspired many monastic movements in Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism.

Several Upanishads are dedicated to him, as are texts of the Advaita Vedanta-Yoga tradition in Hinduism. One of the most important texts of Advaita Vedanta, namely Avadhuta Gita (literally, “song of the free”) is attributed to Dattatreya.