"In thy kingdom may the Brahmans be intelligent and wise, the Kshatriyas brave and accomplished bowmen; may cows give large quantities of milk, the bulls carry great weight; may horses be fast and wives chaste ..."
In a Katmandu courtyard echoing with these priestly chants, TIME's New Delhi correspondent, James Shepherd, last week witnessed the coronation of Nepal's King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva (see THE WORLD). Shepherd first encountered the elaborate ceremonies of the Hindu kingdom in 1956 at the coronation of Birendra's father, Mahendra. The correspondent arrived for that occasion aboard a...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
