c. 1500 BCEPeer-reviewedWell documented
A Sacred Plant of Ancient India
On the timeline · around c. 1500 BCE ·
What happened
In ancient India, cannabis (bhang) was woven into religion and medicine. The Atharvaveda names it among sacred plants said to release anxiety, and it became linked with the god Shiva and used in Ayurvedic remedies.
Why it matters
India gave cannabis a lasting spiritual and medicinal role that endures today — one of the deepest cultural roots of the plant anywhere in the world.