Tragedy in Nepal

[Gauracandra 1]

This story is tragic. If there are any readers from Nepal to this site, I'd be curious of the ground level reaction to the events that have taken place there.

 

Gauracandra

 

KATMANDU, Nepal -- In a surprise twist the government of Nepal has named Crown Prince Dipendra as King after he shot most of his family to death and then turned the gun on himself.

 

Dipendra, who was earlier thought to have died of his wounds, is now reported to be in a coma and on life support at an army hospital after the palace massacre.

 

The announcement of Dipendra's accession to throne following the death of his father, King Birendra, came in a brief statement from the Nepalese privy council carried on state radio.

 

It said that given the new king's condition the late king's brother, Prince Gyanendra, was being appointed as regent, or acting king.

 

State radio also confirmed that the Dipendra's mother, Queen Aiswarya, was killed in the shooting.

 

No further details of the killings were given although it is thought that as many as 10 members of the family were killed as Dipendra unleashed a hail of automatic gunfire at the palace late Friday.

 

Three others are reported to have been seriously wounded.

 

The bodies of the dead King and Queen are expected to be cremated along with the other dead royals at a riverside temple later Saturday.

 

'National tragedy'

Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Paudel has called the massacre "a national tragedy" and confirmed that Dipendra's finger was on the trigger.

The shootings are reported to have been the result of a dispute between the Eton-educated crown prince and his mother over an arranged marriage.

 

Queen Aiswarya is believed to have disapproved of Dipendra's choice of bride and had called a meeting of family members on Friday evening to discuss the issue.

 

Sources told CNN that the crown prince, clad in military fatigues, entered a sitting room of the royal palace at about 2240 local time and opened fire with an automatic rifle.

 

Unconfirmed reports said the crown prince wished to marry the daughter of a former government minister.

 

Shortly after the shooting authorities dispatched a helicopter from Kathmandu to bring King Birendra's brother, Prince Gyanendra, back to the capital.

 

He arrived in the capital by car Saturday afternoon after traveling from the jungle area of Chitwan.

 

It now appears he will become regent and assume the King's responsibilities for as long as Dipendra remains in a coma.

 

According to the Nepalese constitution the brother of the King can only accede to the throne after his sons have died.

 

CNN's Kasra Naji who is in the Nepalese capital says the situation there is calm but tense with troops brought out onto the streets to help maintain security.

 

Nation shocked

Earlier Kathmandu, a city of some 1.5 million residents, awoke Saturday buzzing with rumors but no officials confirmation of the bloody events that had taken place at the palace hours earlier.

 

Eager for news thousands of people began gathering near the palace grounds in the center of the city but were held some distance back by security forces in riot gear.

 

"This is unbelievable . . . one day you hear that the crown prince is getting married soon and the next day he goes on to a shooting rampage and kills everyone in the family," said Shreeram Shrestha, who had rushed to the palace after hearing the news.

 

"Shocking is an understatement, we have been orphaned by this loss," said another city resident.

 

God king

Birendra, 55, was widely revered in Nepali society with many believing that the occupant of the throne is the reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu.

 

He became Nepal's head of state in 1972 reigning for almost two decades as an absolute monarch.

 

In 1990, he turned over government to a multi-party democracy that has since struggled with a fractured parliament, a frail economy and a long-running Maoist insurgency.

 

The shootings come at a time of major political instability.

 

Opposition parties have been demanding Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's resignation for the government's alleged role in a bribery scandal and for not tackling the insurgency.

 

The country was shut down for three days last week by opposition parties pressing for his resignation.

 

Parliament was stalled for the entire winter session earlier this year and street protests have been held regularly.

 

In New York late Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's office issued a statement saying Annan was "profoundly shocked" by news of the killings.

 

Annan "is deeply saddened by this tragedy and extends his heartfelt condolences to the people of Nepal and calls for calm and stability in this difficult period," the statement said.

 

[This message has been edited by Gauracandra (edited 06-02-2001).]

 

[This message has been edited by Gauracandra (edited 06-02-2001).]

[shvu 1]

A special from www.samachar.com

 

<u>Massacre of Nepal royals echoes ancient prophecy</u>

 

The shocking massacre of members of the Nepalese royal family carries undertones of a grim prophecy handed down to the country's ruling Shah dynasty more than 230 years ago. The dynasty was founded in 1768 by King Prithivi Narayan Shah, who was credited with uniting the fractured country into a single kingdom.

 

According to legend, the king was about to march on the Kathmandu valley when he encountered the Hindu god, Gorakh Nath, disguised as a holy sage. The king offered some curd to the sage, who swallowed the gift and then regurgitated it and offered it back. Disgusted, the king threw the food to the ground, covering his feet with the curd in the action. The sage criticised the king's pride, telling him that if he had swallowed the curd he could have fulfilled his every wish. Instead, the sage said the curd covering the king's 10 toes meant that his dynasty would fall after the 10 generations following his own rule.

King Birendra, who was killed Friday night with his queen and other family members - apparently at the hand of his eldest son and heir, Crown Prince Dipendra - was the 11th generation of the Shah dynasty. This legend has its place in Nepalese history," said Milan Shakya, a renowned astrologer and a professor at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan University. "Whether these terrible events are merely coincidence, or a playing out of the prophecy remains to be seen," Shakya said.

 

Crown Prince Dipendra, 29, was Saturday declared king following his father's death. But the prince, who some officials said had carried out Friday's massacre before turning his gun on himself, was reported to be in a deep coma and unlikely to survive to accede to the throne. Prince Gyanendra, middle brother of the late King Birendra, has been named regent in his place

 

 

[This message has been edited by shvu (edited 06-04-2001).]

[Gauracandra 1]

Very, very interesting.

 

Gauracandra

[Jagat 1]

 

<h2>Birendra's death casts gloom on Jagannath temple </h2>

 

Puri (Orissa), June 3. (PTI): A pall of gloom has descended on this pilgrim city following the assassination of the King of Nepal, Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, the Queen and several of his family members on Friday night.

 

The King of Nepal, the only Hindu kingdom in the world, enjoyed special rights of worship in the Lord Jagannath temple here as per the shrine's Record of Rights. The Nepal monarch enjoyed a special privilege which was not bestowed on any VIP, not even the Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, who is regarded as the living incarnation of Lord Jagannath.

 

"We can't believe what we have heard," an old sevayat of the Jagannath temple said. "He was a very very important devotee for the shrine."

 

King Birendra, accompanied by queen Aishwarya, had last visited the 12th century temple on May 12, 1993 along with a large contingent of officials.

 

The shrine has a sevayat specifically designated to attend to the royal family of Nepal during their visit to the shrine. He also helps other citizens of the Himalayan kingdom when they visit the holy town on pilgrimage.

 

The Sevayat, Bhuban Mohapatra, has also been given the title of Lalmoharia by the Nepal King. His uncle, late Lokanath Mohapatra, was the sevayat when King Birendra last visited the shrine.

 

 

http://www.the-hindu.com/holnus/02031805.htm

 

[Gauracandra 1]

From CNN:

 

U.S. cautions against travel to Nepal

June 5, 2001 Posted: 9:52 AM EDT (1352 GMT)

 

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. State Department issued a public announcement Monday recommending Americans defer travel to Nepal.

 

"The situation in Katmandu and elsewhere is unstable" following the deaths last week of the king and other members of the royal family, the statement said.

 

"Demonstrators have disrupted transportation, making travel very difficult, if not impossible. Police have fired tear gas into the crowds and a temporary curfew has been imposed in the Katmandu area."

 

American citizens are advised to stay indoors and monitor the situation closely, it said.

 

The warning said the unrest may continue through the 45-day mourning period.

 

Earlier Monday, police in Nepal clashed with demonstrators angry over the killings of the royal family.

 

Nepal government sources originally said the massacre was carried out by then-Crown Prince Dipendra Bir Bikram, who turned a gun on himself and has since died. The palace, however, later described the shootings as accidental.

 

 

[Guest guest]

<h2>Cocaine-fuelled prince killed family over his two women</h2>

 

<FONT SIZE="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">

 

CROWN Prince Dipendra of Nepal massacred his family after bingeing on cocaine and whisky following an ultimatum from his father to choose between the throne and the woman he loved.

 

 

 

King Birendra, the first to be shot, confronted the prince with a choice between marriage to his girlfriend, which would have excluded him from the succession, and an arranged match with a courtier's daughter he was also seeing.

 

 

 

The Eton-educated prince ran amok with two automatic rifles after days of wrestling with his dilemma, claim members of the extended royal family.

 

 

 

A source close to the family said cocaine and a high level of alcohol had been found in his bloodstream when he was treated in hospital after murdering the king, queen and seven other family members.

 

 

 

Dipendra, who died last Monday, had set his heart on marrying Devyani Rana, 29, the daughter of a leading politician. But Queen Aiswarya objected on the grounds that Devyani's great-grandmother had been a court mistress. She nominated 27-year-old Supriya Shah, daughter of an aide-de-camp to Nepal's Queen Mother, instead.

 

 

 

"Devyani was really the one he wanted," a close friend said.

 

 

 

The prince was told that if he married Supriya he could maintain Devyani as a mistress, and was said by friends to be distraught after Devyani, whom they described as a modern, sophisticated woman, refused to consider such an arrangement.

 

 

 

A doctor said the cocaine could explain how the prince had managed to revive himself after being taken to his room in a drunken stupor at the end of a family dinner nine days ago. He dressed in military fatigues and returned downstairs with his weapons to murder his family.</font>

[Jagat 1]

The reason that the King of Nepal has special privilege in the Jagannath temple. I don't really know the reason, but some people say that the Nabhi Brahma that is in Jagannath's belly is a Shalagram Shila that was given by a King of Nepal many years ago. I haven't been able to find any historical verification of that.

 

[Guest guest]

From VNN:

 

<h3>Massacre Of Nepal Royals Echoes Ancient Prophecy</h3>

 

FROM SAMACHAR

 

USA, Jun 11 (VNN) — The shocking massacre of members of the Nepalese royal family carries undertones of a grim prophecy handed down to the country's ruling Shah dynasty more than 230 years ago.

 

The dynasty was founded in 1768 by King Prithivi Narayan Shah, who was credited with uniting the fractured country into a single kingdom.

 

According to legend, the king was about to march on the Kathmandu valley when he encountered the Hindu god, Gorakh Nath, disguised as a holy sage.

 

The king offered some curd to the sage, who swallowed the gift and then regurgitated it and offered it back. Disgusted, the king threw the food to the ground, covering his feet with the curd in the action.

 

The sage criticised the king's pride, telling him that if he had swallowed the curd he could have fulfilled his every wish. Instead, the sage said the curd covering the king's 10 toes meant that his dynasty would fall after the 10 generations following his own rule.

 

King Birendra, who was killed Friday night with his queen and other family members - apparently at the hand of his eldest son and heir, Crown Prince Dipendra - was the 11th generation of the Shah dynasty.

 

This legend has its place in Nepalese history," said Milan Shakya, a renowned astrologer and a professor at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan University.

 

"Whether these terrible events are merely coincidence, or a playing out of the prophecy remains to be seen," Shakya said.

 

Crown Prince Dipendra, 29, was Saturday declared king following his father's death. But the prince, who some officials said had carried out Friday's massacre before turning his gun on himself, was reported to be in a deep coma and unlikely to survive to accede to the throne.

 

Prince Gyanendra, middle brother of the late King Birendra, has been named regent in his place

 

 

[Gauracandra 1]

June 15, 2001

Hindu Cleansing Ceremonies Held in Nepal After Royal Massacre

 

In Nepal, two ancient Hindu ceremonies of cleansing were held this week, following the massacre that left ten members of the royal family dead. In the first ceremony, on Monday, a Hindu Brahmin, or holy man, marked the late king's passing by symbolically taking his soul into exile. The priest ate a ritual meal laced with animal marrow -- a taboo for strictly vegetarian Hindu priests in Nepal. Then, dressed in royal clothes, he rode an elephant into permanent exile in the mountains.

 

Another holy man participated in a similar ceremony held Wednesday on behalf of the prince who briefly became King before his own death. A government report this week said the prince was responsible for the massacres.

 

 

 

[Jagat 1]

I was given the following information about the Nepali king and his connection to Lord Jagannath. I have more that I will post later, that doesn't necessarily agree with this.<hr>

 

Nepal Raja and Lord Jagannath

 

Notes taken from the book, From Lord Jagannath and Nepal by Aniruddha Das, a small photocopied booklet found at the Jagannath Vallabha Library in Puri.

 

The Nepal king came to Puri sometime in the mid to late 1960s. This small booklet was written at that time.

 

The Special Rights of the King of Nepal

 

Only the Nepal king and the Puri Raj can enter the temple on a palanquin with a procession. They can go up to the Kalpa Vrksa Tree where they have to go on foot.

 

When the Nepal king comes then everyone except for the mudirath (the representative of the Gajapati) has to leave the temple and the four gates are closed. This is called, “mandir sudha”.

 

The royal visitors have to leave their insignia by the kalpa vrksa. Then the panda, that is the priest in charge of Nepali pilgrims, called ??mharia and the pratihari panda will welcome them. Then the second paricha (reciter) of the Patjoshi Mahapatra will recite the following welcome address called Mudela Siddhi.

 

[English translation, Oriya is found in the book] “Hail to you scion of the solar dynasty, the descendants of the Lichavis, the Lord of Navakota and Kailashakuta. Your country, which is known as Bhattaraka mandala, is served by the following rivers: the seven Gandukis and Narayani. Your country is protected by Lord Matsyendranath and Ghantakarna Bhairava. You are a great Shaiva. You are a great devotee of Lord Buddha. When your predecessor Maharaja Dhiraj Sankardeva was ruling as a great Indra, he presented Visnushila (salagram) which had the symbols of both Sankarsan Vasudeva, and Ubhaya Mukhi Kundali from the holy river Ganduki and thereby he made his dynasty spiritually famous. Being the scion of that great king you may kindly accept the traditional honor of worshipping Jagannath."

 

According to Madala Panji the following conversation took place between Adi Sankaracharya and Yayati the King of Nepal in the 7th century:

 

Yayati desired that Sankaracharya, who was a great sage, should be the chief of Purushottam Ksetra and that he should establish a Pitha on the sandy upland between the Kalpa Vriksha and the sea where a Shiva linga was already existing (Govardhan Math). He further stated that this piece of land from Ugrasen Mandap (where the antarvedi existed) to the sea shore be named Bali Sahi. (The other name of the Govardhan Math is Bali Sahi Math).

 

Sankaracharya replied that he had made Yayati the 2nd Indradyumna and therefore he should install Lord Mahadeva in the form of Balabhadra; the spouse of Mahadeva, Yogamaya in the form of Subhadra; and Purushottam as Lord Jagannath. Sudarshan Chakra, the weapon of Lord Krishna should be installed as the deity Sudarsan. For Balabhadra and Subhadra it is necessary to have two Vishnusilas [shalagrams]with the symbols of Vaishnavism. On the direction of Shankaracharya, one Bharati Acharya was deputed to Nepal to meet with Kind Shankar Deva. The Raja agreed to make a gift of Salagram and two were brought to Puri.”

 

In the above welcome address these Salagrams have been described as "Sankarshan Vasudeva" and "Ubhayamukhi Kundali." Both Shalagrams were "living shalagrams", meaning that there were still insects living inside that were carving symbols in the stones.

 

Primarily for this gift of the Salagrams and secondly due to his matrimonial alliance with the kings of the Puri dynasty, the king of Nepal has a special right to worship Lord Jagannath.

 

The Salagram sila for Subhadra is called Kundali because it possesses a golden line (made of gold) inside.

 

Genealogy of the Lichavi Dynasty of Nepal

 

Supushpa (of Puspapur)

Jayadeva I

11 Kings

Vrisa Deva

Shankar Deva

Dharma Deva

Mahi Deva

Vasanta Deva

Udaya Deva

Narendra Deva

Shiva Deva

Jaya Deva II

Parachakra Kama

 

[Jagat 1]

How the Jagannath and Krishna cult reached Nepal

 

From "The Sri Jagannath Cult and its diffusion beyond India." by Makhan Jha, in Studies in the Cult of Jagannath (ed.) K. C. Mishra. Bhubaneswar: Institute of Orissan Culture, 1991. pp.86-96.

 

The sacred specialists of Jagannath of Puri have yajamana relationships with pilgrims and they maintain registers wherein the visits of their clients are entered with great care. I have gone through several such registers at Puri. This pilgrims' register is their valuable possession. Whenever any pilgrim is noticed at the bus stand or at the railway station, he is questioned and surrounded by a group of priests to verify the pilgrim's identity and his home country. As soon as he discloses his name, father's name, village, district, etc., his panda establishes his claim over the yajamana. In this way, every part of India including Nepal is distributed among the pandas of Puri.

 

At Puri there is exclusively one priest for Nepal, who is popularly known as Nepali Panda. I, while working on Puri temple in 1975, interviewed him in detail. He disclosed that though Nepali people visit Puri every year in large numbers, he has not yet received any member of the royal family during the last three or four decades. <font color=#660099>[This contradicts the previous post.]</font>

 

The Nepali Panda further disclosed that a special relationship was established with the kings of Nepal since the 16th century. In 1568, the Jagannath temple was destroyed by Kala Pahar, a Muslim general, and thereafter was renovated in 1587 by King Ramachandra I. Five unknown and untouched things are placed inside the navel of the Daru Devata, which are changed at the time of Brahma Parivartan whenever Navakalevara is performed. Among the five unknown elements, one thing is believed to be a Shalagram sent by the Malla kings of Nepal.

 

As all of us know, the Shalagram stone is found in the Narayani River of Nepal and Indian pilgrims visiting Kathmandu especially purchase two important things, rudraksha beads showing affiliation to Shiva and the Shalagram stone showing affiliation to Vishnu.

 

In this way, a strong bond of affinity was established between the Jagannath of Puri and the kings of Nepal. This strong religious affinity was not changed even after the change of dynasty from the Malla to Gorkha kings in the 1768.

 

...

 

Nepal kings as Tutelary Heads

 

As the kings of Puri are called "chalanti Vishnu" and have been the tutelary heads of the Jagannath temple, or as the kings of Garhwal are called the Baland Badri, for they are the tutelary heads of Badrinath Dham, similarly the kings of Nepal since time immemorial are called Vishnu incarnate.