20 Rupees 1985, Nepal
in Krause book | Number: 32a |
Years of issue: | 12.1985 |
Edition: | |
Signatures: | Governor: Mr. Ganesh Bahadur Thapa |
Serie: | No Serie |
Specimen of: | 1985 |
Material: | Cotton fiber |
Size (mm): | 138 х 70 |
Printer: | Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company Limited, New Malden |
* All pictures marked are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.

Description
Watermark:
The Nepalese crown. Its feature is the plumage of a bird of paradise feathers. Headdress, which is crowned by the royal coat of arms is "Shri Panch" or official crown. It consists entirely of diamonds, pearls, emeralds and rubies. There are certain differences between the crowns, used by His Majesty and similar crowns prime minister.
The King’s head-dress is differenced from that of the Prime Minister by five of these plaques (i.e. circular plaques composed of large diamonds) or “chands”. The back of this crown is ornamented by enormous flatted diamonds about 5/8 of an inch square. It will be seen in the accompanying picture that he too has a bunch of large emeralds, of which the lowest is a gigantic stone of 1,25 inches in length. Behind, His Majesty’s head-dress continues the row of hanging stones, but substitutes for them flatted diamonds, each hung as a pendant to the large square diamond above.
Among the Crown jewels of Nepal is one that deserves a passing mention. It is a knot of large diamonds which belonged to the late Empress Eugénie and was sold in 1886. The jewel, which is 5 inches in length by 1,25 inches in breadth, is composed of diamonds of large size.
Avers:
The engraving on banknote is made from this photo of HM The King of Nepal Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. The date of Photo is unknown.
HM The King of Nepal Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह) (28 December 1945, Narayanhity Royal Palace, Kathmandu, Nepal - 1 June 2001, Narayanhity Royal Palace, Kathmandu, Nepal) was the 11th King of Nepal and a South Asian statesman. The eldest son of King Mahendra, whom he succeeded in 1972, he reigned until his death in the 2001 Nepalese royal massacre. He is the most internationally well-known Nepalese king in modern history. HM The King wears a traditional Nepalese crown.
Сentered is the Krishna Mandir temple, on Patan Durbar Square, in Lalitpur (Nepal).
Patan Durbar Square is situated at the center of the city of Lalitpur, in Nepal. It is one of the three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of its attraction is the ancient royal palace where the Malla Kings of Lalitpur resided.
The Durbar Square is a marvel of Newa architecture. The Square floor is tiled with red bricks. There are many temples and idols in the area. The main temples are aligned opposite of the western face of the palace. The entrance of the temples faces east, towards the palace. There is also a bell situated in the alignment beside the main temples. The Square also holds old Newari residential houses. There are various other temples and structures in and around Patan Durbar Square built by the Newa People.
Krishna temple is the most important temple in Patan Durbar Square. It is built in the Shikhara style imported from India although it is unique in its own way. The stone carvings along the beam above the first and second floor pillar is most notable. The first floor pillar carvings narrate the events of the Mahabharata, while on the second floor there are visual carvings from Ramayana.
The temple was built in 1637 by King Siddhinarasimh Malla. It is said that one night the King saw the Lord Krishna and his consort Srimati Radha standing in front of the royal palace. He ordered a temple to be built on the same spot. There are 21 golden pinnacles in the temple. Below the pinnacles are 3 stories. The first floor holds the main shrine of Lord Krishna with shrines of Radha and Rukmini at each side. The second floor is dedicated to Lord Shiva and the third to Lokeshwor(Lord Buddha).
The square is crowded with thousands of Hindu Pilgrims and devotees during Krishnastami.
The coin that appears on the front of the notes is the reverse side of a Nepalese Asarfi (gold coin). The inner circle of the coin indicates Shree Bhawani (Goddess Durga), Asarfi (gold coin), Nepal, and Khadga (the double-edged sword. The outer circle of the coin indicates Shree Shree Shree Gorakha Nath - Typically, Sree or Shree or Sri or Shri is a honorific prefixed with the Indian / Hindu title of respect and esteem. It is an Indian title applied to people and Hindu gods in various languages, derived from Sanskrit. Basically, the coin indicates protection of the people by Shree Bhawani and her Khadga.
The outer circle of the coin is divided into 8 sectors. This is the eight auspicious symbols of Dharma. According to legend, when the Buddha Sakyamuni attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, the deity gave him eight auspicious symbols: the first of the deities, Brahma, appeared before the Buddha with golden Dharmachakra - Wheel of Dharma, heavenly deity Indra brought a white sink for the proclamation of the true doctrine, the earthly deity Stavara - precious vessel full of nectar of immortality, the other deity Buddha brought two goldfish, lotus flower, the banner of victory and precious umbrella [Chemitdorzhiev 2010: 48-49]. All of these eight characters has become a symbol of the Dharma (teachings of the Buddha), indicating a direct relationship with its people's lives. While wisdom teachings of the Buddha can achieve prosperity and happiness, these characters are also called eight characters of luck.
Gorakshanath (also known as Gorakhnath) was an 11th to 12th century Hindu Nath yogi, connected to Shaivism as one of the two most important disciples of Matsyendranath, the other being Caurangi. One legend states that Guru Gorakshanath, the "eternal sage" traditionally associated with Hatha Yoga, has been around for thousands of years watching the welfare of humanity. Other legends ascribe different stories to his birth and the period of his worldly existence, and they vary greatly. The Nath Rahasya, which literally translates as "the mystery of the masters", recounts the birth, work, and death of nine such Naths (masters), and Guru Gorakshanath was the ninth Nath, preceded by his Guru, the eighth Nath, namely, Matsyendranath.
Bhavani is a warlike aspect of the Hindu goddess Parvati (Durga). Bhavani means "giver of life" due to the nature or source of creative energy. In addition to its militant mission, it is also known as Karunaswaroopini "filled with grace". Bhavani was the divine patron of the Maratha leader Shivaji, to whom she dedicated her sword.
Parvati (पार्वती) is known as the motherly form of Mother Goddess Gauri Jagadamba, Parvati is another form of Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Maha Devi or Durga, the Great Goddess. Parvati is considered to be a complete incarnation of Adi Parashakti or Goddess Durga, with all other Goddesses being her incarnations or manifestations.
Goddess Durga (दुर्गा), meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible") is the most popular incarnation of Devi and one of the main forms of the Goddess Shakti in the Hindu pantheon. Durga is the original manifested form of Mother Adi-Parashakti. She is Adi-Parashakti herself. The Devi Gita declares her to be the greatest Goddess.
According to legend, Durga lives in the Vindhya mountains, surrounded by eight assistants yogins.
Denominations in numerals are in top corners. In words centered.
Revers:
The sambar (Rusa unicolor) is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, South China, and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local insurgency, and industrial exploitation of habitat.
The name "sambar" is also sometimes used to refer to the Philippine deer, called the "Philippine sambar" and the Javan rusa, called the "Sunda sambar".
The sambar is distributed in much of South Asia as far north as the south-facing slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal and India, in mainland Southeast Asia including Burma, Thailand, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia (Sumatra and Borneo), Taiwan, and South China, including Hainan. In the Himalayan foothills, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and eastern Taiwan, it ranges up to 3,500 m. (11,500 ft.). It inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical seasonal forests, subtropical mixed forests with stands of conifers and montane grasslands, broadleaved deciduous and broadleaved evergreen trees, to tropical rainforests, and seldom moves far from water sources.
The sambar prefers the dense cover of deciduous shrubs and grasses, although the exact nature of this varies enormously with the environment because of its wide Asian range. Home range sizes are probably equally variable, but have been recorded as 1,500 ha. (3,700 acres) for males and 300 ha. (740 acres) for females in India.
Top centered is an emblem of Nepal Bank. Middle line in the text in Nepali script reads "ASATO MA SADGAMAYA" or "LEAD US FROM THE UNREAL (FALSITY) TO THE REAL (TRUTH)".
On right side is the coat of arms of Nepal.
Denominations in numerals are in lower left and top right corners, in lower right corner in words.
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