digaṃbarā digaṃbarā śrīpāda vallabha

An arati to Shripada Shrivallabha, the first of the Dattatreya incarnations, and it is unusual in being an arati that argues. Its refrain is the mantra that the Datta tradition repeats, digambara digambara Shripadavallabha digambara, and the verses take that word apart: digambara means clothed in the directions, and what is enclosed by the directions is space itself, and the Upanishad says space is brahman — therefore the name is a statement of identity and not a description of nakedness. The third verse turns to precedent and lists the rescues, the elephant taken by the crocodile, Draupadi, Ambarisha, and the brahmin swallowed. The last asks in the plainest terms: I am seized by desire and anger, take hold of me and carry me quickly across.