KATHMANDU (AFP) - Nepal's embattled king made a low-key, late night trip to receive blessings from a young "goddess" on Sunday, after he was replaced earlier this week at celebrations by Nepal's prime minister.
King Gyanendra's dynasty has hung in the balance since the country's fiercely republican Maoists ended their civil war late last year and entered the political mainstream.
"The king came around and received blessings from the Kumari," Ratna Karji Shakya, who lives in the palace with the girl worshipped as a living goddess, told AFP.
In previous years, the monarch made several public appearances at the Kumari festival, but this year had been replaced by the country's veteran prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala.
"The palace informed us of the visit late this afternoon," said Shakya, one of the goddess's caretakers.
Gyanendra's dynasty was established almost 240 years ago, when his ancestor Privith Narayn Shah -- the founder of modern Nepal -- received blessings from the virgin goddess, marking the spiritual seal on his invasion of Kathmandu.
Traditionally the Kumari -- a young girl selected and worshipped as a living reincarnation of a powerful Hindu goddess -- has to give the king blessings to allow him to continue ruling the country.
But more earthly decisions now look set to determine the monarchy's future, with its fate supposed to be decided in November after elections for a body that will rewrite the country's constitution.
The Maoists have called for an immediate declaration of a republic, and thousands of Maoists gathered in an open air theatre in Kathmandu earlier Sunday as part of their protest campaign.
King Gyanendra has always struggled to win widespread public support.
He came to the throne in 2001 after his brother Birendra and most of his family were massacred, according to the official version, by an alcohol and drug-fuelled crown prince Dipendra, who in turn shot himself.
On November 22, Nepal is due to go to the polls to elect a body to rewrite the constitution and decide the fate of the monarchy once and for all.
The Maoists quit the interim government nearly two weeks ago and are campaigning hard for the monarchy's immediate abolition.
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