The Death of Vishnu

The docile palace guards, trained more for fawning servitude than martial prowess, had no way of knowing that the Friday-night comings and goings of Nepal's huffy Crown Prince Dipendra, 29, would turn out to be the prelude to a dynastic catastrophe. When the Crown Prince and his cousin Prince Paras, 27, arrived at the palace for the royal family's regular Friday dinner, they were dressed casually in khaki slacks and polo shirts and had already had a few drinks. The two were notorious prowlers of the Kathmandu night-life circuit, regulars at the X-Zone nightclub and the Bakery Cafe, where they were at the center of a swirl of hip kids and young adults whose preferred mode of transportation is a Lexus SUV and whose favored intoxicant is locally processed hashish. By the time the night was over, the two would become central figures in the succession to a throne traditionally occupied by a reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Until Friday, King Birendra, the Crown Prince's father, was the god's avatar.

Nepal is defiantly individualistic, to the point of setting its clocks 15 minutes ahead of neighboring India's and practicing a syncretic, resolutely devout brand of Hinduism. But it has always been a bit of an international afterthought. Sandwiched between subcontinental superpower India and Chinese-occupied media-darling Tibet, Nepal has developed such a muddled identity that it now comes across as merely a staging ground for Everest expeditions and a destination where stoned Western hippies can score killer brownies.

As for the Nepalese, particularly those who live in the capital, Kathmandu, the bewildering influx of Westerners combined with a new generation of Nepalese who party like Westerners has left them wondering what will become of the formerly elder-respecting, ancestor- worshipping, opposite-sex-avoiding youth. Traditionalists and monarchists lay blame for the nascent dissolution on the liberalism engendered by a 10-year-old democracy that has already seen 10 Prime Ministers. King Birendra ruled Nepal as an absolute monarch until 1990, when he was forced by violent protests to step down in favor of a constitutional monarchy. But critics have assailed the new democratic values, saying they encourage people to do whatever feels right, regardless of the consequences: dump the Prime Minister, take a bribe, kiss your partner before marriage. Indeed, corruption scandals plague the current government of Girija Prasad Koirala. If the monarchy were still absolute, the critics griped, then the traditional values would prevail.

Yet the crime that now stands as the most heinous and shocking in Nepalese history was perpetrated in the innermost sanctum of that monarchy. At about 9 p.m. Friday, the mustachioed Crown Prince took his place at the teak dining table in a room that could accommodate 50 people, its pink walls hung with temple and landscape paintings. After pouring himself another drink, he began arguing with his parents, shouting at his mother, Queen Aiswarya, who didn't approve of the Crown Prince's romance with longtime paramour Devyani Rana, 23, the daughter of a former Foreign Minister of Nepal. The Crown Prince was furious that his family wanted him to marry Priyanka Shaha, a princess of royal blood. His sister Shruti scolded him to "stop slurring your words! You're the future King."