2 Rupees 1977, Sri Lanka
| in Krause book | Number: 72с |
| Years of issue: | 26.08.1977 |
| Edition: | 40 000 000 |
| Signatures: | Mr. Ronald Joseph Godfrey de Mel, Mr. Herbert Tennekoon |
| Serie: | 1969-1977 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 21.08.1973 |
| Material: | 100% raw cotton |
| Size (mm): | 114 х 58 |
| 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 Sri Lanka Lion (Panthera leo sinhaleyus), also known as the Ceylon Lion, was a prehistoric subspecies of lion, endemic to Sri Lanka. It appears to have become extinct prior to the arrival of culturally modern humans, c. 37,000 years BC.
This lion is only known from two teeth found in deposits at Kuruwita. Based on these teeth, P. Deraniyagala erected this subspecies in 1939. However, there is insufficient information to determine how it might differ from other subspecies of lion. Deraniyagala did not explain explicitly how he diagnosed the holotype of this subspecies as belonging to a lion, though he justified its allocation to a distinct subspecies of lion by its being "narrower and more elongate" than those of recent lions in the British Natural History Museum collection.
Avers:
On right side is the statue of the King Parakramabahu I (presumably!), in Polonnaruwa.
Magnificent sculpture, 3.6 meters in height, is located 100 meters north of the monastery and is a sample of the high skill of the ancient Polonnaruwa. It is commonly believed that the statue depicts King Parakramabahu the Great, who holds a yoke in the hands of the royal power. According to another version it is a statue of the Sage - Pulastya Rishi (Sanskrit: पुलस्त्य, Sinhala: පුලස්ති, Thai: ท้าวจตุรพักตร์), in whose hands the palm manuscript of Ola (please, read at the bottom of the page).
Parākramabāhu I (Pali Mahā Parākaramabāhu 1123–1186) was king of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa from 1153-1186. During his reign from the capital city of Polonnaruwa, he unified the three lesser kingdoms of the island, becoming one of the last monarchs in Sri Lankan history to do so. He oversaw the expansion and beautification of his capital, constructed extensive irrigation systems, reorganized the country's army, reformed Buddhist practices, encouraged the arts and undertook military campaigns in South India and Burma. The adage "not even a little water that comes from the rain must flow into the ocean without being made useful to man" is one of his most famous utterances.
Parākramabāhu spent much of his youth in the courts of his uncles Kitti Sri Megha, Prince of Dakkinadesa, and Sri Vallabha, Prince of Ruhuna respectively, as well as in the court of the King of Rajarata, Gajabahu II. He succeeded his uncle Kitti as king of Dakkhinadesa around 1140 and over the next decade improved both Dakkhinadesa's infrastructure and military. Following a protracted civil war, he secured power over the entire island around 1153 and remained in this position until his death in 1186. During Parākramabāhu's reign, he launched a punitive campaign against the kings of Burma, aided the Pandyan dynasty against the Chola dynasty in southern India and maintained extensive trade relations with China and countries in the Middle East. Within the island, he consecrated religious monuments, built hospitals, social welfare units, canals and large reservoirs, such as the Sea of Parakrama. 
Approximately 4,500 years ago, the country of Lanka was governed by the sage Pulastya - the creator of the traditional medical system "Ayurveda", he was the grandfather of the great king of Ravana, who brought Lanka maximum flourishing at that time. Ravana also created a separate highly developed civilization and managed the ten kingdoms of the world at once. During the reign of the sage Pulasti, the capital of Lanka was named in honor of his name Pulastipura ("Pulasti" - the name of the ruler, "pura" - the city). Over time, the city's name was reborn in Polonnaruwa. In historical times Polonnaruwa has always remained one of the main cities of Lanka and even during the period when Anuradhapura was the capital of the island, Polonnaruwa remained the second largest and most important city of Lanka.
Denominations in numerals are in top corners, in words in lower corners and centered.
Revers:
Centered - Medirigiriya Vatadage, near Polonnaruwa.
Medigiriya, near the city of Polonnaruwa, more precisely - Vatadage (Vatadage).
In 26 km. to the north of Polonnaruwa there is a place called Medigiriya, next to which you can see even more ancient Buddhist monuments than in Pollonaruwa.
The first mention of this place appears in the chronicles of Mahavamsa and refers to 168-186 years.
Complex Medigiriya - is one of the monuments of the "Cultural Triangle". This is one of the "classic" samples of ancient architecture with filigree carving on the stone.
The main attraction of the complex is the Vatadage - a round structure with a stupa in the center. The stupa diameter is 7.9 m. The stupa is surrounded by three concentric circles of 16, 20 and 32 octagonal stone columns with slightly concave faces. Earlier the columns supported a domed roof above the stupa. Between the second and third row of columns there was an outer wall, from which now practically nothing remains. The entrance to the stupa is on the north side, it is here that the terrace leads from the entrance gate. Below the ruins is a pond with lotus flowers, around the peacocks walk and monkeys jump.
More photos you can see here.
Polonnaruwa velaikkara (Tamil) inscription of Vijayabahu I is on right side.
It is a stone plate, standing near the Vatadage. Text written on Vatteluttu (Tamil) and Granta (Sanskrit).
Vijayabahu I (born Prince Keerthi) (ruled 1055–1110) was a medieval king of Sri Lanka. Born to a royal bloodline, he grew up at a time when, part of the country was occupied by invaders from the Chola Kingdom of Tamilakam. He assumed rulership of the Ruhuna principality in the southern parts of the country in 1055. Following a seventeen-year-long campaign, he successfully drove the Chola out of the island in 1070, reuniting the country for the first time in over a century. During his reign, he re-established Buddhism in Sri Lanka and repaired much of the damage caused to infrastructure during the wars.
Denominations in numerals are in three corners, in words - centered and in top right corner.
Comments:
Security thread.
"Sri-Lanka - an island in the ocean". Documentary, USSR (1977, Russian language).
If the sound is weak and you using Firefox, though, for me, very useful was that.
Endless tea plantations, ancient ruins of Buddhist temples, picturesque bays and beaches ... The filmmakers travel around one of the most beautiful islands of the Indian Ocean - Sri Lanka, tell about the national traditions and customs, art and culture of the inhabitants of the island, their daily concerns.
If you find my work useful I will be grateful for any help in supporting the site.
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