Shimoga (Karnataka): Brahmin priests sacrificing eight sheep at a yajna has now become a huge controversy in Karnataka. Sankethi Brahmins, a minuscule sect among the Brahmins, performed an ancient ritual called Soma Yajna and sacrificed eight sheep at Srikantapura in Mattur near Shimoga in central Karnataka.
According to eyewitness accounts, they strangulated the sheep to death, later cut them into pieces and offered them to fire. Once the yajna was over, the Brahmin priests ate the meat of sheep and drank country liquor, claim eyewitnesses.
Leading Kannada newspaper Prajavani has accessed video clipping and pictures of the ritual.
According its report the yajna took place between April 22-27 and 17 priests from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh took part in it.
The ritual has led to a huge debate among the Brahmins. Several community leaders have condemned it calling it a cruel ritual. A Sanskrit scholar Dr. Sanathkumar was the main organiser of the ritual.
Speaking to News18, he said, "There is nothing to comment on it. I am not an official representative of the Sankethi Brahmin community. I was there in my personal capacity as a Sanskrit scholar. Debate over an ancient ritual is useless."
A similar ritual took place in the same village about 13 years ago. According to the participants it was aimed at unseating the then Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna.
After it led to a huge controversy, the Soma Yajna was stopped for many years. Sankethi Brahmins whose population is less than 25,000 in the entire world speak a mixture of Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil languages.
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