Cannabis is illegal in
Thousands of pilgrims travel to the sprawling Pashupatinath temple complex in Kathmandu every year from all over Nepal and India to mark the occasion, which is known as Shivaratri.
Holy men mark the Shivaratri festival in Nepal and India by praying, smoking
"We have arrested 67 persons from the Pashupatinath temple. Most of them were found intoxicated with cannabis and disturbing the peace," Kathmandu police spokesman Uttam Subedi told AFP, adding that those arrested were pilgrims.
"Those who were harassing girls and were involved in suspicious activities have also been arrested. It's a huge event with thousands of people visiting the temple. So we have tightened the security," he added.
Thousands of police officers have been deployed at the temple premises and more than 150,000 pilgrims are expected to celebrate Shivaratri, which is a public holiday in Nepal.
In recent years, police have cracked down on sadhus selling cannabis during the event, but this was the biggest arrest of pilgrims for drug use to date.
Camps are set up in the area to accommodate the visiting sadhus, the main attraction of the festival, many of whom arrive weeks ahead of the celebration.