Controversy over Yogi Adityanath's posters at Kathmandu rally: Tracing Goraksh Peeth's centuries-old ties with Nepal's royal family

Posters of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath displayed at a rally in Nepal on Sunday. (Photo Credit: X/@GeneralBakshi)

The appearance of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's posters at a rally to welcome former Nepal king Gyanendra Bir Shah in Kathmandu has triggered a controversy in the Himalayan nation.

Yogi Adityanath has been a strong proponent of reinstating Nepal's status as a Hindu nation and is idolized by many in Nepal -- partly due to his stand on the issue and also due to the centuries-old ties between the erstwhile monarchy of Nepal and the Gorakhsh Peeth that yogi heads.

The incident occurred at the rally on Sunday when a huge crowd was present to welcome Gyanendra's return to Kathmandu after three months. The presence of Yogi's posters at the rally aligns with the firebrand BJP leader's consistent demand to declare Nepal a "Hindu rashtra" and ban cow slaughter and religious conversions.

Ties between the royal family of Nepal and the Goraksh Peeth dates back centuries. The Shah dynasty of Nepal, which ruled the Himalayan nation till 2006 when monarchy ended, calls itself Gorakhpanthi or the followers of Baba Gorakhnath.

With a resounding 82 percent of its population Hindus, Nepal is witnessing a fresh clamour for the return to its Hindu roots following the reign of the communist government and China's growing influence in the region.

"Nepal has 82% Hindus and a significant number of them revere Nath sect's Guru Gorakhnath and his spiritual guide Guru Matseyndranath as God. For them, communist dispensation and the growing China's influence has not been conducive," a political analyst told Times Of India.

Notably, King Birendra, who was assassinated along with his entire family in 2001, shared a strong bond with Yogi's guru Mahant Advaidyanath. According to Dwarika Tiwari, who has been looking after the mutt's administration since 1972, Birendra once visited the Gorakhnath Temple to offer khichdi on Makar Sankranti.

Dwarika told TOI that despite the monarchy ending in Nepal, an amount of Rs 10,000 is offered every year to the Goraksh Peeth during Makar Sankranti, and Rs 5,000 each on the king's birthday and Dussehra.

The connections between the erstwhile royal family of Nepal and the Goraksh Peeth are deeply religious. There are several temples of the Nath sect in Nepal and some even believe that the famous Lord Pashupathi Nath temple is also of Nath sect founder Guru Gorakhnath.

"There is an old story that Guru Gorakhnath had blessed Prithvi Shah -- considered the first king of modern Nepal -- when he was a boy that his empire would flourish and expand wherever he would go. It is after this that Nepal, which was divided into several provinces, was unified," Dwarika said.

Despite old ties that run deep, the appearance of Yogi's posters at the rally in Kathmandu has created a controversy. The reason behind the unease, say experts, is the UP Chief Minister's demand to declare Nepal a Hindu rashtra, something that does not go down well with the current communist dispensation.

Yogi Adityanath, the then Gorakhpur MP, had visited Nepal in 2015 and addressed a huge rally of 10,000 people where he made the demands. He had even written to the then Nepal PM Sunil Koirala regarding his demands.

Gyanendra has met Yogi twice since he became the UP CM with the last meeting in January this year in Gorakhpur on the way to Maha Kumbh. The previous meeting came in 2018 when the former king called on the UP Chief Minister at his Kalidas Marg residence in Lucknow.