Sankethi people are Smartha brahmins primarily residing in Karnataka. They speak the Sankethi dialect of Tamil, and rever Nacaramma, a pious lady who led them, at the time Vadama Iyers, out of Sengottai, Tamil Nadu, in the 10th century. Two Sankethi groups initially settled predominantly in Kaushika near Hassan, Karnataka and Bettadapura, Mysore district, becoming the Kaushika and the Bettadapura Sankethi communities, respectively. Other groups such as the Mattur-Hosahalli and Lingadahalli Sankethis, later merged into one of the larger communities.