Killing echoes ancient prophecy

KATHMANDU, JUNE 3. The shocking massacre of the 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 the legend, the King was about to march to 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, regurgitated it and then offered it back. Disgusted, the King threw it and it fell on his feet.

The sage, criticising the King's pride, told him that if he had swallowed it, he could have fulfilled every one of his wishes. The sage said the curd covering the King's 10 toes signified that his dynasty would fall after 10 generations following his own rule.

King Birendra was the 11th generation of the dynasty.

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

- AFP

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Section  : International
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