Jagannath temple still reveres King Gyanendra

King Gyanendra might lose his 239-year-old crown after monarchy is abolished, but he will continue to enjoy special religious rights as a “king” in India’s ancient Jagannath temple in Orissa.The king and his queen enjoy special privileges at the 12th century Jagannath temple in Orissa’s coastal city of Puri.The temple is one of the most sacred Hindu pilgrimage spots and is taken as one of the four abodes (dhamas) of the divinethat lie in the four directions of the country.As per the temple record of rights, the entire temple premises gets washed — a ritual known as ‘soudha’, before the arrival of the Nepal royal couple.Authorities do not allow devotees to enter the temple premises. All the morning rituals of the temple are conducted in advance to facilitate them.Only a handful of temple servitors help the Nepal royal couple perform rituals before the deities. The temple administration closes three gates and keeps open only the southern gate for the Nepali king and queen to enter, according to temple official Bhaskar Mishra.Family priests of the king, known as ‘Lalmoharia Panda’, escort the couple to the sanctum sanctorum.It is the Nepal king who has the privilege to perform rituals on the ‘Ratna Vedi,’ the throne of the deities inside the sanctum sanctorum. Except for a few senior temple priests, no other person is allowed to perform the ritual.“The Nepal royal couple will continue to enjoy the same privileges even after they lose their crown in Nepal,” Suresh Mohapatra, the temple’s chief administrator, said. “If they come here, they will be given the same royal treatment we have been giving them in the past,” he said.Like King Gyanendra, a royal family in Orissa also enjoys special status in the temple. The king of Puri, known as ‘Gajapati’, is considered the chief servitor of the Jagannath temple. He is also the ex-officio chairperson of the temple managing body. Hindu devotees believe the king of Puri is the religious representative of Lord Jagannath and revere him as next to the lord.When the king and queen visit the temple, it is the Gajapati who welcomes them to the temple city and accompanies the royal couple to the temple.“Legend says the King of Nepal had presented the ‘Shaligram Shila’ (a precious stone considered to be the representative of Lord Vishnu) to the king of Orissa, Jajati Keshari, in the 11th century AD,” Jagabandhu Padhi, a researcher, said.“The Shila has since been placed in the heart of the wooden image of lord Jagannath. From that time on the King of Nepal enjoys special privileges in the Jagannath temple,” Padhi said.