Word

Atri

Sanskrit

अत्रि

IAST

atri

In General

Atri was a great sage who was raised to the Saptharshi position in all the seven Manvantara. He was a mind-born son of Brahma. There is a Dharmasastra Atributed to him as Atreya Dharmasastra. It is an elaborate work in 9 chapters. Along with other topics of Dharma sastra it treats of Dana, Japa, and Tapa in detail. Atri-samhita and Atri-smriti are the other two works attributed to Attri. Manusmriti(3.16) and Mahabharata–Anusasanaparva(65.1) quote his view.

Many descendents of Atri are told in scriptures. The Aitereya Brahmana (8.22) mention one sage Udamaya, an Atreya as priest of the king Anga Virocana. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad(2.6.3;4.6.3) include one Atreya, a disciple of Manti, as one of the teachers of Madhuvidya. Atreya Punarvasu, a teacher of Ayurveda is yet another Atreya.

Veda

Atri and his descendents (Atreyas) are the seer of the fifth mandala of the Rig Veda. Atri wrote an Anukramanai (literature giving first word of vedic hymns, name of Rishi, Chandas and Devata) on Krishna Yajurveda.

Purana

Atri's wife is Anasuya, a daughter of Kardama Prajapati. Pleased by the austerities of Atri, the deities Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha born to him as Chandra, Dattatrya, and Durvasa. He lived in a hermitage at Dandakavanam and Rama visited him and learned about the secret of dharma(Ramayana 2.117). Sita learned the responsibility of a wife from his wife Anasuya, an embodiment of chastity.