The last King of Nepal Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev today visited Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and paid obeisance to the deities by offering special puja. King Gyanendra entered the 12th century shrine in the seaside pilgrim town along with Gajapati King of Puri Dibyasingha Deb through the south gate after the latter went in and preformed the puja. The Nepal King also offered three rare Salagrams (ammonite) and a gold coin. "I prayed for peace across the world," the last Nepal king said adding that he also prayed for strengthening of friendly ties between his country and India. The Shri Jagannath Temple Administartion (SJTA) had made special arrangements in view of the visit of the Nepal king. The temple remained closed for devotees for around three hours for the smooth conduct of rituals by him. The king of Nepal has the special privilege of performing 'aarti' of Shree Jagannath atop the 'Ratna Singhasan' (Podium). The king of Nepal has special seva and rituals in the three important shrines like Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri, Lingaraj Temple at Bhubaneswar and Sakhigopal Temple at Sakshigopal. The deep spiritual ties between Odisha and Nepal are held in great reverence by the king. Adi Shankaracharya had established the rituals and practices in both the Jagannath and Pashupatinath temples. Nepal comes under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Puri Shankaracharyas Govardhan Math.
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