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Upanishads · Dattātreya 1.7
॥
Devanāgarī
द्रमिति हृदये । ह्रीं क्लीमिति शीर्षे । एहीति शिखायाम् । दत्तेति कवचे । आत्रेयेति चक्षुषि । स्वाहेत्यस्त्रे । तन्मयो भवति । य एवं वेद
Transliteration (IAST)
dramiti hṛdaye | hrīṃ klīmiti śīrṣe | ehīti śikhāyām | datteti kavace | ātreyeti cakṣuṣi | svāhetyastre | tanmayo bhavati | ya evaṃ veda
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
द्रम् इति हृदयेdram iti hṛdaye"dram" — on the heart
ह्रीं क्लीम् इति शीर्षेhrīṃ klīm iti śīrṣe"hrīm klīm" — on the head
एहि इति शिखायाम्ehi iti śikhāyām"ehi" — on the tuft
दत्त इति कवचेdatta iti kavace"Datta" — on the armor
आत्रेय इति चक्षुषिātreya iti cakṣuṣi"Ātreya" — on the eyes
स्वाहा इति अस्त्रेsvāhā iti astre"svāhā" — on the weapon
तत्-मयः भवतिtat-mayaḥ bhavatibecomes consisting of that
यः एवं वेदyaḥ evaṃ vedawhoever knows thus
Translation
«"Dram" — on the heart, "hrīm klīm" — on the head, "ehi" — on the tuft, "Datta" — on the armor, "Ātreya" — on the eyes, "svāhā" — on the weapon. Whoever knows thus becomes consisting of that».
Version
bfd10bb4a357 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The aṅga-nyāsa, “placement upon the limbs,” is given: the syllables of the mantra are applied to parts of the body, touched by hand with each. This rite is common in mantric practice, and it is worth saying what it means. It is the marking-out of oneself: a person passes his hand over the body, and every part receives its syllable.
Six places are usual: heart, head, tuft, “armor” (the shoulders, embraced crosswise), eyes, and “weapon” (a snap of the fingers around the head). The last three are named with martial words: armor, eyes-as-arrows, weapon; and this shows the rite was conceived as arming oneself. The Vaiṣṇava side holds this rite too, and its own protection is the kavaca, “armor,” discussed reading the Garuḍa narratives and the Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī.
Let us add what should be said in substance about this practice. Its purpose is that no place should remain unoccupied: the whole body ends up marked out with the name. This purpose, to my mind, is reasonable and akin to what was discussed reading the Śāṭyāyanīya (7): things worn until death are marks of belonging.
Here the belonging is inscribed not on clothing, but on the person himself; and the words tan-mayo bhavati, “becomes consisting of that,” mean exactly this: he has become, entirely, this name.