KATHMANDU (Reuters) -- Nepal's King Gyanendra called for the success of a fragile peace process in the Himalayan nation on Monday, his first public comments since being forced to cede political power in April.

The king, who has been reduced to a figurehead and is faced with the strong possibility of the monarchy being abolished, invoked the Hindu goddess of power to guide Nepal through what he called a difficult period.

"May Goddess Nava Durga Bhavani inspire us all to move ahead on the strength of national unity and reconciliation at this difficult juncture in our history," the 59-year-old king said in his traditional message for Dasain, the biggest festival in the Hindu nation.

The message was circulated by the state-run RSS news agency and excerpts were read on state radio.

King Gyanendra, who has had no role to play in the peace process and has rarely been seen in public since April, joined a chorus of voices hoping for reconciliation between political parties and Maoist rebels.

"The realization of the efforts at instilling a sense of peace and security among the people by ensuring the success of the ongoing peace process is the need of the nation at this hour and also what the people aspire for," he said.

Weeks of often violent protests in April forced Gyanendra to end nearly 15 months of absolute rule and hand power to a seven-party alliance that organized the protests and was supported by the Maoist rebels.

The monarch had justified taking power saying he wanted to crush the rebels as political parties had failed to tackle them.

There was no immediate response to his comments from the government or the Maoists. But analysts said the king was apparently reaching out to both. ---------------------- Too late?

"He has realized the importance of the changed political context and wants to survive by sending a gesture of compromise with political parties and the Maoists," said Lok Raj Baral of the Nepal Centre for Contemporary Studies, a private think-tank.

"He has come out with a conciliatory gesture. But it is too late for him," he said.

The new government and the rebels, fighting since 1996 to topple the monarchy, have been observing a ceasefire since April and have resumed peace talks that collapsed in 2003.

The Maoists and the government are also preparing to hold elections for a special assembly in 2007 to prepare a new constitution that will decide the future of the monarchy.

The assembly was a key demand of the rebels to end their decade-old insurgency in which more than 13,000 people have died.

But the peace process has made slow progress due to disagreements between the two sides over disarming the rebels and the role of the monarchy in an interim constitution.

Talks between the two sides have been delayed and are now expected to be held on Oct. 8.

King Gyanendra urged for unity and reconciliation.

"Only the collective commitment of all Nepalis can give continuity to the glorious history" of the nation and guarantee its prosperity, he said.

Traditionally, many Nepalis considered the monarch an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, one of Hinduism's supreme trinity of gods.

But the king's image was tarnished after a palace massacre by the then crown prince in 2001 and took a further blow when Gyanendra grabbed power in 2005, only to be humbled by this year's democracy campaign.

The new multi-party government has since curtailed most of the king's powers, stripped his control over the 90,000-strong army and even subjected him to taxes.