By IANS
Kathmandu : Ignoring the curbs imposed on him by the government and the axing of his public role during Dashain, Nepal’s biggest Hindu festival, a resolute King Gyanendra will continue his usual worship in the capital despite the hullabaloo created by an earlier prayer there.
Though stripped of his position as head of state, the embattled king will mingle with commoners at the Dashainghar on the grounds of an ancient palace to worship the goddesses of power with animal sacrifices, media reports said.
Thursday marks the seventh day of the ten-day-long Dashain festival with a ritual that symbolises the conquest of Kathmandu valley over two centuries ago by the king’s ancestor Prithvi Narayan Shah.
Six attendants from the Magar community, a tribe known for their valour during war, undertake a journey on foot from Gorkha, the ancient kingdom in western Nepal from where the king’s forefathers hailed, to the capital, carrying a festival offering.
The Fulpati, an offering of flowers and fruit, is blessed at the temple.
Then, it used to be taken to the palace to bring luck and long life to the royal family.
However, this time, departing from a two-century-old tradition, the holy offering goes to the residence of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who has taken over the king’s social and religious roles after the fall of the royal government last year.
Also for the first time, the king and queen will not be given the traditional cannon salute by the army Thursday at a public ground to celebrate Fulpati, with the honour going to Koirala once again.
Despite the changes, King Gyanendra, who is known to be a devout follower of Hindu traditions, is scheduled to make an appearance at the main temple to offer sacrifices as an individual.
Though the government refused to make arrangements for his security and the temple did not issue him a formal invitation like it used to in the past, the monarch is expected to arrive with an entourage of palace officials.
The last time the king went to a pubic temple, it created a furore. The enraged prime minister accused him of trying to confront the government and ordered the number of royal palace guards to be halved.
However, the act brought Koirala severe criticism with accusations that he was trying to throttle the rights of the king to worship as an individual.
The incident was also a shot in the arm for the palace as onlookers cheered the king and denounced the prime minister, showing him black flags.
The controversial worship at the temple of Kumari, Nepal’s Living Goddess, also seemed to have brought luck to the beleaguered royal family.
Soon after the worship, a special parliament session that was called to determine the king’s fate was put off twice due to continued squabbling between the ruling parties and the Maoists.