Hamsa Gita (Sanskrit) (also referred to as Uddhava Gita) consists of Krishna's final discourse to Uddhava before Krishna draws his worldly 'descent' (Sanskrit: avatar) and 'pastimes' (Sanskrit: lila) to completion. Though the Uddhava Gita is often published singularly as a stand-alone work, it is also evident in the Eleventh Canto of the Bhagavata Purana commencing from verse 40 section 6 through to the end of section 29, comprising total of 1100 'verses' (Sanskrit: shloka) and is considered part of the Purana literature proper.[1] This discourse importantly contains the story of an Avadhuta and though it does not state explicitly the name of this personage within the section or the Bhagavata Purana as a whole, Vaishnava tradition and the greater Sanatana Dharma auspice ascribe this agency to Dattatreya.
- ^ Brown, Manisha Wilmette (editor, author) & Saraswati, Ambikananda (translator) (2000). The Uddhava Gita. Frances Lincoln Ltd. ISBN 0-7112-1616-9, ISBN 978-0-7112-1616-7. With a foreword by Prof. Vachaspati Upadhyaya, Vice Chancellor, Lal Bahadur Sanskrit University, New Delhi. Source: [1] (accessed: Monday march 8, 2010)