Kathmandu, June 2: Pall bearers carried the bodies of King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, Princess Sruti and Prince Nirajan from the Birendra Military Hospital at Chhauni to Pashupatinath for cremation accompanied by a procession estimated at more than 20,000. Teary eyed people, many weeping openly, stood alongside the streets of the capital as the procession passed showering flowers vermilion, water, and khatas. Queen Aishwarya was carried in a palanquin, while those of the others were carried in simple bamboo poles.

By the time the procession reached Arya Ghat, night had fallen and it would be past midnight before all the four pyres were finished. The band played the national anthem by the banks of the Bagmati and a 22 gun salute reverberated across Kathmandu Valley as the pyres were lit. Thousands watched from the teraces on the other side of the Bagmati as the fires consumed the pyres.

Earlier, crowds overcome with emotion shouted pro-King slogans, and as the funeral passed Swayambhu also slogans against Prime Minister Girija Koirala. Police had to fire in the air to quell the crowd. Radio Nepal and Nepal Television carried the funeral procession and the cremation live, and most dwellers in urban Nepal watched it late into the night.

The government has announced five days of national mourning and has asked civil servants to shave their heads as a sign of respect. Messages of condolence are pouring in from foreign countries. Neighboring India announced a three-day mourning.

King Birendra was cremated at 9.46 PM Nepal time Saturday with full state honors at Pashupatinath temple. Sahibju Dipak Bikram Shah lit the funeral pyre.