Nepal King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev laid the foundation stone of Gobinda Go-Mata Mandir, the first of its kind temple dedicated to cow, at Gadarathipur near Jatni on Wednesday in Bhubaneswar, India.

According to a media report, the last Hindu monarch of Nepal also inaugurated a Goshala constructed over 3.5 acre of land at Rathipur, exclusively for indigenous breeds. Speaking at the International Go-Sambardhana Mahotsav, Dev said Sanathan Dharma has the ability to orient mind, body and soul to spiritual awakening. He offered ‘purnahuti’ at Biswashanti Mahajagyan organized by Shree Marg, an organization working to popularise Hindu rituals as well as applied spirituality.

Indian Express reports the organization has also launched ‘Wow Cow Mission’ to indigenous breeds which will boost economy, agriculture and nutrition, said Shree Marg secretary Sibasis Satapathy.Dev is slated to visit Jagannath temple, Lingaraj temple and Sakhigopal temple during his six-day visit. This is the first time in 150 years that a king of Nepal is visiting Sakhigopal temple.

Dev will also attend a programme commemorating the silver jubilee of Pattabhisheka of Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Puri at Govardhan Math in Puri. He will have the special privilege of performing ‘aarati’ at Jagannath temple atop the Ratna Singhasan, on February 11.Elaborate arrangements have been made at the temple to ensure smooth conduct of rituals and special puja by the Nepal king. Devotees will not be allowed inside the temple for around 2.5 hours from 9.30 am.

Gyanendra, however, has several programmes lined up over the next few days. As he enjoys exclusive rights and special privileges of performing arati of Lord Jagannath atop the Ratna Singhasan (golden throne) of the Jagannath temple in Puri.

Gyanendra also enjoys a special right to touch the idols of the Holy Trinity. He will perform puja at the temple on February 11.

In view of his visit, the temple authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of all the rituals. On that day, the temple gate will open at 3am and the bhoga mandap rituals will be completed by 9.30am. Later, the entire temple will be purified and it will remain closed to devotees from 9.30am to 12noon.

Prior to his visit to the temple, Gyanendra, who is a state guest, will attend a programme commemorating the silver jubilee of "Pattabhisheka" of Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati on February 9 and February 10.

He will visit the Lingaraj Temple here and Sri Krishna Temple at Sakshigopal. Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev will visit the pilgrim town of Puri on February 9 to attend a programme commemorating the silver jubilee of ‘Pattabhisheka’ of Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati. On February 11 he will visit Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri where he has the special privilege of performing the ‘aarati’ of the diety atop the Ratna Singhasan of the Srimandir and is even allowed to touch the idols of the Holy Trinity.

The king of Puri Gajapati Divya Singh Dev and representatives of Shree Jaganath Temple Administration (SJTA) will receive the last Nepal king at the Lion’s Gate of the temple, which will be closed to the public from 9.30 am to 12 noon that day, the officials said. He will return from Odisha on February 12.

There are deep spiritual ties between Odisha and Nepal. Adi Shankaracharya had established the rituals and practices in both Jagannath and Pashupatinath temples and Nepal, which comes under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Puri Shankaracharya’s Govardhan Math.

Inputs from Indian Newspapers