David Brick of Yale University claims it existed among the Brahmins of Kashmir in the later half of the first millennium. The author of the text may have mentioned practices existing in his own community, as "Vishnu Smriti" is believed to have been written in Kashmir. Enrica Garzilli states that the practice existed in the 1st century BCE amidst the Kathaka sect of the "black Yajurveda". The dates of other Dharmasastra texts mentioning "sahagamana", states Brick, are not known with certainty. Though the priestly class throughout India was aware of them and the practice itself by 12th century.