Kathmandu, Sep 6 - Forty-eight hours after the attack on Indian priests at Nepal's hallowed Pashupatinath temple and the ensuing outcry in India, protests against the appointments still continued Sunday with a sect calling itself the 'sons' of the Hindu deity vowing they would keep up the fight for their right.

Hundreds of people blocked the way to the 5th century shrine in the morning and shouted slogans against the appointment of two Indian priests who were initiated into their duties Saturday amidst unprecedented security.

'The Sannyasi sect has been known since time immemorial as the descendants and followers of Lord Shiva Mahadev (the other name by which Pashupati is known),' said Bidur Bhatt, coordinator of the Nepal Sannyasi Samaj.

Sannyasis are mendicants who reject the Hindu caste system, do not sport the sacred thread that allows Brahmins to officiate as priests and instead of cremating their dead, follow the system of burial.

Though Christians find it difficult to acquire burial grounds in Nepal, the Sannyasis have a burial place on the sprawling grounds of the Pashupatinath temple.

Bhatt points out that many Shiva temples in Nepal honour the Sannyasis' claim by appointing them as priests though they are not Brahmins.

The Jalbile temple in Sindhupalchowk in north Nepal and the Halesi Mahadev in Khotang district have Sannyasi priests.

Bhatt also rejects the claims that India appoints Nepali priests in Indian temples.

'These priests are either Indians of Nepali origin or Nepalis who have been living in India for a long time,' he says.