Dakshinkali, May 12:

King Gyanendra put in a rare public appearance today at Dakshinkali temple on the outskirts of Kathmandu as a part of performing panchabali puja, just weeks before the first sitting of the constitutional assembly.

“Panchabali (five-animal sacrifice) is undertaken to get power, to get what you wish for and to ensure the well-being of the family,” Mod Raj Bhattarai, a royal priest, told AFP

at the elaborate temple ceremony.

King Gyanendra— who drove himself in a jeep in a small convoy to the temple — smiled and greeted the crowd.

“I came here to see the king and pay him my respects as this might be the last chance,” said Tseten Sherpa, a Buddhist monk from a monastery near Dakshinkali.

The king appeared relaxed throughout the annual ceremony and he had clearly lost weight.