Nepali king attends sacrifice in rare public appearance

Nepal's King Gyanendra Shah (L) and Queen Komal Shah leave in their car following their five-sacrifice annual event in the Hindu temple at Dakshinkali , some 18 km south of Kathmandu yesterday. Photo: AFP

Nepal's embattled king, whose centuries-old dynasty faces its end within weeks, made a rare public appearance Monday for a ritual animal sacrifice aimed at preserving power, priests said.
"Panchabali (five animal sacrifice) is undertaken to get power, to get what you wish for and to ensure the wellbeing of the family," Mod Raj Bhattarai, a royal priest told AFP at the elaborate ceremony.
"This puja (ceremony) will bring good consequences to the world and to Nepal."
King Gyanendra is set to be removed from power after fiercely republican former rebel Maoists scored a surprise win in landmark elections for a body that will abolish the world's only Hindu monarchy and rewrite the constitution.
The ultra-leftists have vowed that the monarchy will be formally ended in the first meeting of the constitution-drafting body. The meeting is due to take place before the end of the month.
Gyanendra -- who drove himself in a jeep in a small convoy to the temple 18 kilometres (11 miles) south of Kathmandu -- smiled and put his hands together in the traditional "namaste" greeting when questioned by reporters.
As part of the ceremony, temple assistants sacrificed a duck, chicken, lamb, goat and buffalo in front of the king and queen in a centuries-old tradition of offerings to the Kali, Hindu goddess of death and destruction.