Across Kathmandu, Shivaratri drew tens of thousands of devotees to pray and sing at Pashupatinath, the capital’s landmark Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, according to the Associated Press. On Sunday, Hindu holy men and mostly young devotees openly puffed on cannabis smoke as part of the festival celebrations.
At Pashupatinath, devotees lined up to pray during the holiday and took part in religious songs and dancing, AP reported. The scenes of cannabis use unfolded during the same period that the festival’s broader crowds filled the area, with others traveling to Kathmandu from neighboring India, the report said.
AP also described cannabis use on the forested Bankali hills across the Bagmati River from the temple. There, holy men whose bodies were smeared with ashes could be seen smoking marijuana, along with many Nepali men and some women, AP reported.
The cannabis-smoking observance is tied to how Shiva is depicted and understood in Hindu tradition, AP said. Marijuana is usually banned in Nepal, but exceptions are made for the Shivaratri holiday to celebrate Shiva, who has strong links to the practice and has often been portrayed smoking pot.
The AP report said Nepal’s drug law carries punishments for marijuana offenses, with prison sentences of up to a month for users and up to 10 years for traffickers. AP further noted that Nepal was known for marijuana and other narcotics in the 1960s, when hippies brought demand and shops and tea houses advertised and sold it legally, before marijuana was outlawed in 1976.
AP said efforts have continued in Nepal to decriminalize marijuana, including moves by campaigners and parliament members aimed at legalizing farming and use, but progress has stalled. The Shivaratri exception—visible in the crowds at Pashupatinath and beyond—illustrated how religious observance can coexist with a broader legal framework that still treats marijuana as an offense for most of the year.