Nepal king makes animal sacrifices to power goddess

by Sanjay Jha | May 12, 2008 at 11:48 pm | 191 views | 2 comments

Nepal's last Hindu King is on his way out and he made first public appearance after Maoists have won general elections in Nepal. Continuing an old practice, King sacrificed an animal to appease the Hindu Goddess of power.

Nepal's King Gyanendra, facing imminent ouster from the throne, made perhaps his last royal public appearance at a shrine outside Kathmandu on Monday and offered annual prayers to Kali, the Hindu goddess of power.
The 60-year-old king was accompanied by Queen Komal to the temple of Dakshinkali perched by the side of a stream in a jungle-clad ravine 25 km (15 miles) south of Kathmandu.
Gyanendra, facing the abolition of the 239-year-old monarchy after the Maoists emerged as the biggest party in assembly elections in April, offered prayers to the "family deity."
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, called the constituent assembly to begin its session on May 28, a parliament statement said, signaling an early end to the monarchy.
Under an agreement between the Maoists and the government, the first meeting of the assembly is supposed to declare an end to the monarchy and turn Nepal into a republic.

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Jarrett Martineau

at 00:19 on May 13th, 2008

good stuff:

It's fascinating, and seemingly appropriate, that an ancient ceremony such as animal sacrifice was conducted as the Nepalese monarchy comes to an end — a definitive mark of change, no?