Nepal cannabis rituals – level 2

Nepal cannabis rituals

18-02-2026 07:00

Nepal celebrated Shivaratri in Kathmandu. Large crowds went to Pashupatinath Temple to honor Shiva. People waited for hours to pray, sing, and dance. Visitors also came from India to join the festival.

Marijuana is illegal in Nepal for most of the year. But during this festival, police let people use it because of the link between Shiva and cannabis. Holy men and young people smoked near the Bagmati River.

Nepal banned marijuana in 1976 after many years of legal sales. Some people want to change the law, but nothing happened yet. On this special day, tradition is more important than the law.

Difficult words: honor (to show respect or admiration for someone or something), holy (connected to a god or a religion), marijuana (a plant which people smoke because it changes how they feel and think).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.

Why did police allow people to use marijuana during the Shivaratri festival despite its usual illegality?

LEARN 3000 WORDS with NEWS IN LEVELS

News in Levels is designed to teach you 3000 words in English. Please follow the instructions
below.

How to improve your English with News in Levels: 

Test

  1. Do the test at Test Languages.
  2. Go to your level. Go to Level 1 if you know 1-1000 words. Go to Level 2 if you know 1000-2000 words. Go to Level 3 if you know 2000-3000 words.

Reading

  1. Read two news articles every day.
  2. Read the news articles from the day before and check if you remember all new words.

Listening

  1. Listen to the news from today and read the text at the same time.
  2. Listen to the news from today without reading the text.

Writing

  1. Answer the question under today’s news and write the answer in the comments.

Speaking

  1. Choose one person from our Conversation section.
  2. Talk with this person. You can answer questions from Speak in Levels.

 

Stock images by Depositphotos