Bhang | The Holy Holi Drink - Storytrails

Bhang | The Holy Holi Drink

Is bhang legal in India? From Holi celebrations to Siva worship, bhang has been consumed in India for centuries in various forms— bhang lassi, bhang thandai, bhang laddoos... What makes it ‘sacred’?

1. Cannabis Plant

BruceBlaus, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blausen_0159_Cannabis_Plant.png


2. Cannabis marijuana

https://itoldya420.getarchive.net/amp/media/cannabis-marijuana-green-health-medical-5e4232


3. Cannabis sativa

Apurv013, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cannabis_plant_(Bhang_in_Indian_languages)_5.jpg


4. Cannabis leaves processed to make bhang lassis

By Reuben Strayer in flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cutey5/albums/72157623128519661/


5. Balls of Bhang Made from Cannabis, Mathura India

By Adam Cohn in flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/adamcohn/43276701130


6. Thandai, Spiced Indian Milk Drink

Aparna Balasubramanian, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thandai_(Spiced_Indian_Milk_Drink).JPG


7. Holi Special Thandai, Kolkata, West Bengal

Papia Paul Chowdhury, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holi_Special_Chilled_Thandai-Kolkata-West_Bengal.jpg


8. Shiva and Parvati strain bhang for drinking

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shiva_and_family,_c.1810-20,_Guler_or_Mandi_style-_Shiva_and_Parvati_strain_bhang_for_drinking.jpg


9. The Churning of the Ocean of Milk

By Asian Curator at The San Diego Museum of Art

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asianartsandiego/


10. The Gods and Asuras Churn the Ocean of Milk

Free Library of Philadelphia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Churning_of_the_ocean_-_Manthan.jpg


11. The asuras and devas churn the Ocean of Milk

See page for author, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samudra-Manthan-The-Churning-of-the-Ocean-of-Milk.jpg


12. Shiva drinking the World-Poison

Author Sister Nivedita and Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Illustrator Nandalal Bose, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Myths_of_the_Hindus_%26_Buddhists_-_Shiva_drinking_the_World-Poison.jpg


13. Lord Shiva statue, Bangalore, India

Rameshng, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RVM_Shivmandir_-_old_airport_road_-_murugeshpalya_-_Bangalore_8263.JPG


14. Vrindavan temple, Mathura

Image by shalender kumar from Pixabay

https://pixabay.com/photos/indian-temple-vrindavan-mathura-4782290/


15. Jagannath Temple in Puri

By Saurabh Chatterjee in Large Norwegian encyclopedia

https://snl.no/Jagannath


16. Naga Sadhus, Kathmandu, India

I, Luca Galuzzi, CC BY-SA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sadu_Kathmandu_Pashupatinath_2006_Luca_Galuzzi.jpg


17. Naga Sadhus, Pashupatinath Temple

Hari gurung77, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Babaji_at_pashupati.jpg


18. Aghori at Badrinath

Alewis2388, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agori_Tribe.jpg


19. Aghori, Kathmandu, Madhyamanchal, Nepal

By Mike Behnken in flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebehnken/5427541032


20. Naga Sadhu, Diamond Herbour, West Bengal

Andyindia, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_pilgrim.jpg


21. Naga Sadhu in India

https://pixahive.com/photo/saint/


22. Marijuana, or cannabis, after the drying stage

Cannabis Training University, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lots_of_Marijuana.jpg


23. THE NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES ACT, 1985

The Gazette of India

https://narcoticsindia.nic.in/legislation/ndpsact.pdf


24. Cannabis resin

By Andres Rodriguez in flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/symic/


25. Flowering White Skunk Cannabis Sativa

Botanica, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flowering_White_Skunk_Cannabis_Sativa.jpg


26. Marijuana Cannabis leaves

Cannabis Tours, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marijuana_Cannabis_leaves.jpg


27. Cannabis male flowers

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cannabis_male_flowers.JPG#file


28. Cannabis growing as weeds at the foot of Dhaulagiri, Nepal

Arne Hückelheim, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cannabis_plants_in_front_of_the_Dhaulagiri_summit.jpg


29. Wild cannabis in Uttarakhand

This file is not in the public domain. Therefore you are requested to use the following next to the image if you reuse this file: © Yann Forget / Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wild_cannabis_in_Uttarakhand,_India.jpg


30. Government authorized Bhang Shop 

Image by Rolling Okie in flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/27228302@N04/5403280283/


31. Bhang shop in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India 

Tom Maisey, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bhang_shop_in_Jaisalmer,_Rajasthan,_India_on_June_6,_2006.jpg


32. Government official Bhang Shop

Image by Christophe Brisbois in flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kris_b/


33. Bhang drinkers, from the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission report, 1893

NLS, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photo_of_bhang_drinkers,_from_the_Indian_Hemp_Drugs_Commission_report,_1893.jpg


34. Cannabis plant

https://www.pickpik.com/cannabis-pot-weed-marijuana-drug-plant-122667


35. Cannabis plant

 Image by cytis from Pixabay

https://pixabay.com/photos/green-weed-hemp-nature-herb-pot-4633206/


36. marijuana cannabis plants leaves

From Pix4free

https://pix4free.org/photo/349/marijuana-cannabis-plants-leaves.html


37. 2D structure of cannabidiol (CBD)

Harbin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cannabidiol.svg


38. 2D structure of tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC)

Harbin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:THC.svg


39. The arrival of Vasco da Gama at Calicut by Roque Gameiro, 1900

Roque Gameiro, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_chegada_de_Vasco_da_Gama_a_Calicute_em_1498.jpg


40. Bhang eaters before two huts

English: thesandiegomuseumofartcollection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bhang_eaters_before_two_huts_(6124556163).jpg


41. Nine sadhus eating, bathing, sleeping, smoking, mixing bhang

Image by Asian Curator at The San Diego Museum of Art

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asianartsandiego/


42. Atharva-Veda samhita

William Dwight Whitney, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atharva-Veda_samhita_page_471_illustration.png


43. Ayurvedic medicine, Indian Watercolour

See page for author, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ayurvedic_Medicine_Wellcome_V0045681.jpg


44. Sanskrit medical manuscript named Cikitsāsārasaṅgraha by Vaṅgasena, 13th-century 

Ms Sarah Welch, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:13th-century_Cikitsa-sara-sangraha,_Vangasena,_medical_text,_Sanskrit,_palm_leaf_manuscript.jpg


45. Portrait of Jan Huygen van Linschoten

Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JanHuygenVanLinschoten.png


46. Representations of the towns of Amsterdam, Antwerp, Middelburg, and Enchuysen, Linschoten, Jan Huygen van, 1563-1611

Courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library, Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

https://www.lookandlearn.com/history-images/YJC0012570/Title-page?t=2&q=Itinerario&n=4


47. Love Please painting, Beatles Ashram, Rishikesh

Image by Dominic Milton Trott

https://www.flickr.com/photos/157786281@N07/


48. Flag-map of the United States

Many users contributed to the current and past versions of this file, including: Dbenbenn, Zscout370, Jacobolus, Indolences, Technion, TheTaraStark., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg


49. A depiction of the use and effects of bhang

By the Rijks museum https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/

https://picryl.com/media/het-gebruik-en-de-gevolgen-van-bhang-ad1254


50. Marijuana cannabis weed

Image from Pix4free

https://pix4free.org/photo/350/marijuana-cannabis-weed.html


51. Bhang making in Varanasi 

Cosimo Roams, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Varanasi_-_Bhang_(4553673409).jpg


52. Green Plants Inside Greenhouse

Photo by Cannafornia from Pexels

https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-plants-inside-greenhouse-5810703/


53. Cannabis ruderalis

Le.Loup.Gris, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cannabis_ruderalis_(wild_marijuana,_habitus).jpg


54. A Cannabis Plant

Photo by Onyx

 https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-cannabis-plant-6248473/


55. Government Bhang Shop

Image by Maureen Barlin in flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/maureen_barlin/6476683597


56. THE NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, ACT, 1985

https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/18974/1/narcotic-drugs-and-psychotropic-substances-act-1985.pdf


57. Supreme Court of India

Subhashish Panigrahi, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Supreme_Court_of_India_01.jpg


58. A map of South Africa and its provinces

fine art storehous, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Africa.webp


59. Cape Town Cannabis Walk 2017

AWildAppeared, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cape_Town_Cannabis_Walk_2017.png


60. Map of the Netherlands.

Globe-trotter, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Netherlands-regions.png


61. Coffeeshop Smokey

Dominic Milton Trott, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Random_Menus-_Coffeeshop_Smokey.jpg


62. Coffee Shop Smokey

Sissssou, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coffee_Shop_Smokey.png


63. Legality of cannabis in the United States

Lokal_Profil, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_US_state_cannabis_laws.svg\


64. A woman sells bhang in Assam

Subhashish Panigrahi, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woman_selling_Cannabis_and_Bhang_in_Guwahati,_Assam,_India.jpg


65. Bhang shop in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India

Benjamin Vander Steen from Victoria, Canada, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bhang_shop_in_Jaisalmer,_Rajasthan,_India_on_October_12,_2009.jpg


66. Bhang Thandai in Varanasi 

Satish Krishnamurthy from Bombay, India, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bhang_Thandai_in_Varanasi_(4689673029).jpg


67. Preparation and consumption of Indian hemp

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gouache_by_an_Amritsar_artist_depicting_the_preparation_and_consumption_of_Indian_hemp_(bhang).jpg

END OF STORY

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