According to some accounts, Dattatreya is a later phenomenon and it could develop a syncretic culture by synthesizing Shaivite, Vaishnavite and Sufi culture together. The people of the region believe that Bababudan is an incarnation of Dattatreya. Having a long history in Karnataka, the Dattatreya tradition – a part of Awadhut tradition, upholds the idea of a formless god, and condemns caste and sacrificial rituals performed by Brahmin priests. Also a long tradition of the Dattatreya and Sufism going hand in hand can be witnessed by the fact that Baba Budan and Dattatreya have become interchangeable.
