Held as a combined incarnation of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva together — a teacher said to have learned from twenty-four different gurus, including animals and natural elements.
दिव्य ऋषि · Divine Sage
Born to the sage Atri and Anasuya, Dattatreya is described in the Bhagavata Purana as having taken twenty-four gurus from the natural world — among them the earth, a python, a moth, and a young child — each teaching him a distinct lesson through observation alone.
He is revered across Shaiva, Vaishnava, and Nath yogic traditions alike as a guru of gurus, closely associated with the Avadhuta ideal — a realized being beyond caste, ritual, or convention. Several Nath and Mahanubhav lineages trace their teaching authority back to him.