दत्तात्रेय पूर्ण अवतार असून, ब्रम्हा, विष्णू आणि महेश यांचे एकत्रीत रूप आहे. दत्त म्हणजे प्रत्यक्ष समोर उभे रहाणे, दत्ताची आराधना केल्यास प्रत्यक्ष दर्शन मिळते. दत्तात्रेय हे योगाचे, नाथ संप्रदायाचे आणि सर्व गुरूंचे गुरू होत. दत्तात्रेयांचे मूळ स्थान कर्नाटक राज्यातील गाणगापूर येथे आहे.

Dattatrya is considered by some Hindus, to be god who is an incarnation of the Divine Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. The word Datta means"given," Datta is called so because the divine trinity have"given" themselves in the form of the sage couple Atri and Anusuya. He the son of Atri, hence the name Atreya.

In the Nath tradition Dattatreya recognised as an Avtaar or incarnation of the Lord Shiva and as the Adi-Guru of the Adinath Sampradaya of the Nathas. Although Dattatrya was at first a "Lord of Yoga" exhibiting distinctly Tantric traits, he was adapted and assimilated into the more devotional cults, while still worshipped by millions of Hindus, he is approached more as a benevolent God than as a teacher of the highest assence of Indian thought.