Nepal changes Pashupati rules

Ending the centuries-old monopoly of South Indian brahmins, Nepal’s government has issued a regulation enabling Nepalese citizens and others to become priests, including chief priest, of the famed Pashupatinath Temple here, one of Hinduism’s eight holiest shrines.

The regulation issued by the ministry of culture and state restructure allows any qualified person to become a priest irrespective of nationality, sources at the Pashupati Area Development Trust said. Now anyone, including Nepalese and Indian nationals, can apply for the jobs.

Local religious activists, however, said the decision was “illegal and impractical”.

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