1000 Rupees 1995, Sri Lanka
| in Krause book | Number: 113 |
| Years of issue: | 15.11.1995 |
| Edition: | 71 656 197 |
| Signatures: | Minister of Finance: Chandrika Kumaranatunga, Governor: A. S. Jayawardana |
| Serie: | 1995-2006 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 01.01.1991 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 157 х 78 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
* 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 holding a sword (from the coat of arms) (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.
N.G Krasnodembskaya, R.D. Senasinha "The Image of the Lion in the Mythology and Symbolism of the Sinhalese Singhals" (From Prehistory to the Present) ".
“The image of a lion is inseparable from the culture of Sri Lanka and its main population, the Sinhalese. On behalf of the lion (in Sinhala,“Sinha”), their self-name is “Sinhala”, which is directly translated as“ lions ”, and descriptively, with the disclosure of the true meaning - people of the lion's race". One of the ancient names of the island is Sinhala-dvipa, that is, the“ Island of the Lions”, and it was from him that the Arabian Serendib and European Ceylon, Zeylan, Ceylon, and others. Afanasy Nikitin in his book“ of the sea ”called it“ Silyan Island. ”Often, Sinhalese names and surnames include as an element, the word "sinha", as can be seen in the name of one of the authors of this article (it can be translated as "lion among the soldiers"). It is considered proven that the ancestors of the Sinhalese were from northern India. According to the anthropological type, the Sinhalese belong to southern (dark-haired) Caucasians, although Sri Lankan scholars like to emphasize the prevalence among them of Australoid features. Sinhalese belongs to the new Indian branch of Indo-European languages (its close relatives are modern Indian languages like Mar Athi, Gujarati, Bengali). The fact of the ancient migration of a certain wave of Indo-Aryans from the territory of India to Lanka is clothed in a legendary form: the Sinhalese consider their progenitor Vijay, the prince of the northern Indian kingdom, who was expelled from his native lands for "pranks". After long sea wanderings, the legend says, Vijaya, together with his companions, reached the shores of Lanka and found refuge there. It happened around the middle of the first millennium BC. But Vijaya still has its legendary, "lion", backstory. It is most vividly recorded in the Sinhalese Buddhist chronicle, called "Mahavansa." This text was recorded in the V or VI. AD The image of a lion in the mythology and symbolism of the Sinhalese Sri Lankitradition seems to have existed for many previous centuries). Lankan scientists adhere to the version that it was in the VI. he was transferred from Old Sinhala to the language of Buddhist scholarship fell. Several of the opening chapters of the Mahavans are devoted to the most ancient history of the Sinhalese. However, it describes a time that is already far enough for those who testify about it. Therefore, the events of that time, in fact the prehistory of the Sinhalese, take on a legendary mythological form. In fact, the first historical person mentioned in the chronicles is Devanampiya Tissa (247–207). At the time of his reign, according to these historical legends, Buddhism was perceived by Sinhals from the missionaries of Ashoka, the Indian emperor, who reigned in the second half of the 3rd century. BC. This date is the main one on which scientists rely in studying the history of Lanka. In general, it is believed that the main relocation of the Sinhalese ancestors from Northern India to Lanka occurred in the 5th – 6th centuries. BC. The “lion's” theme is related to even more ancient times, and the events connected with it occurred (if they did) even on Indian territory.
The legend is this: From the marriage of King Vanga to Princess Kalinga [the names of the ancient Indian kingdoms] a daughter was born, distinguished by her wayward character and fervor of feelings. At the whim of her desires, she set off on a journey, joining the merchant caravan. A lion attacked the caravan on the way, and everyone fled, except for the princess who loved the adventure. However, the lion did not harm her, but, on the contrary, he felt a surge of tenderness and humbly approached her. The princess fearlessly touched the beast, and a keen love feeling pierced him. Then the lion grabbed the princess, sat him on his back and sped into his cave. So the princess became the wife of the king of beasts (which, by the way, was predicted by her at birth). From this marriage were born twins, a daughter and a son, who, instead of arms and legs, had lion's paws, therefore he was given the name Sihabab, that is, Lion's Hand. When the children were sixteen years old, they, together with their mother, fled from the cave in which the lion kept them locked up, and went to Wang. On the border of the kingdom, they were met by one of the commanders of King Vanga, who, as it turned out, was the cross-cousin of the former wife of the king of the forests. He was conquered by the beauty of a relative, took her to the capital Vanga, and there he married her (the marriage between the Crossuzees was resolved). In the meantime, a lion left alone was scouring the woods and trees in search of the missing wife and children and terrified the inhabitants. His son, seduced by a large reward (three thousand monetary units) decided to take part in the hunt for a lion, and then King Vanga (he was a grandfather to the young man) promised him to return the whole kingdom, if successful. The hunt was crowned with a victory over a lion, but Prince Lion's Hand ceded the kingdom to his uncle, husband to his mother (and his grandfather had already died by this time). Lion's Hand himself returned to the forest where he was born and founded the city of Sihapur (the Lion City) there, and around, in the forest, hundreds of yojans (Yojana is an ancient Indian measure of length, the size of which ranged from 7 to 20 km.) many villages: so the kingdom of Lal was formed, where he began to rule with his sister, marrying her. This couple was born sixteen pairs of twins, all - sons, and the eldest of them, who later became the heir to the throne, was called Vijaya (Victorious), and the second - Sumitta (The Good Friend). However, the young heir to the throne loved to “fool around”, and with his antics in a company with 700 friends he caused a lot of anxiety to his subjects. The Lion's Hand was forced to expel him from his kingdom. Vijay and his comrades were put on a ship and sent to the sea. After long wanderings friends arrived in Lanka. “Prince Vijaya, a brave man, stuck,” the chronicle said, “to the shore of Lanka, in the land called Tambapanni, on the day when Tathagata (the Finding Path) was one of the definitions of a Buddha, lying between two similar trees of fat, preparing go to nirvana. " On the shore, which pleased them deserted and, therefore, the lack of danger, Vijaya and his companions met with yakkhini demoness. The first to meet them was a demon servant in the shape of a dog, carried along one of the companions Vijay (he thought that the presence of a dog spoke about the proximity of the village) and led to her mistress, demon Kuvanna, who was sitting under a tree and spinning like a pious recluse. With her magic, Kuvanna lured the whole "retinue" of Vijay, and then he himself appeared. Between him and the demoness there was a skirmish, which ended in peace. After this, Kuvanna, demonstrating her humility, returned Vijay his people, promised to get him a kingdom and share a bed with him. She provided Vijaya and his companions with provisions looted from passing merchants. At the common meal, Vijaya invited the demoness herself and even, as stated in the chronicle, "offered her the first piece." Very flattered, the demoness took for the sake of Prince Vijai the appearance of a charming sixteen-year-old girl, smartly dressed and decorated with jewels. The demoness kept all her promises: Vijaya withdrew her kingdom from the demons; she bore him a son and a daughter. However, later, seeking to become the “legitimate” king of the new state, Vijaya was forced to think about the “legitimate” spouse. She became a princess from Madura (South India), the daughter of King Pandu. She also brought with her friends and wives to comrades Vijay. Having married a princess from Madura, Vijay forgot the leprosy of his youth and reigned "royally and safely" all of Lanka from her capital Tambapanni for thirty-eight years. (Н. Г. Краснодембская, Р. Д. Сенасинха "Образ льва в мифологии и символике сингалов Шри Ланки" (От предыстории до современности) .rus")
Avers:
Centered, on background is the moonstone with animal representation - elephants. It is a stone on a flight of stairs, in front of Council Hall of King Parakrama Bahu I, inner city district, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. The elephant on the moonstone symbolizes the birth.
The moonstone in the temple in Polonnaruwa is a semicircular carved "step", which is located in front of the entrance to the famous Stone Temple.
The step has the meaning of a threshold index, symbolizing the transition from worldly space to the sacred, and saying that when entering the temple, you must leave all sinful and base thoughts.
Stone Temple was built around the XII century, at the same time was carved out of rock and the Moonstone.
The details of it are very finely and clearly worked out - here is a string of elephants and intertwining Buddhist patterns.
The architectural detail unique to Sri Lanka is Sandakada Pahana (transliteration from Sinhalese) or Moonstone (in the English version).
In which Buddhist temple or the ancient city of Sri Lanka you do not go, you can see the moonstone in front of the steps or directly in front of the entrance to the building. Therefore it is useful to glance sometimes under legs.
The Moonstone is a semi-circle carved from a stone in the form of a half moon. And in accordance with the opinion of scientists, it symbolizes the path of Sansara (the cycle of birth and death; the cyclical nature of existence) in Buddhism. Every detail of the stone has its symbolic meaning.
There is always a lotus in the center of the Moonstone. In Buddhism, the lotus is a symbol of purity and the human desire for enlightenment. The seeds of the lotus, falling into the bottom silt, germinate and tend to the light through the muddy water. In the same way, a person can break out of muddy mundane desires and passions for the light of enlightenment and nirvana.
The stone lotus is surrounded by half rings from a series of animals, birds, and plant plexuses.
In lower left corner is the bas-relief of The Sri Lanka (Sinhalese) Lion (Panthera leo sinhaleyus) in Lankatilaka Raja Maha Viharaya, in Kandy.
Right and left shows the festively decorated temple elephants, in Kandy, at the Esala Perahera festival.
On the left - an elephant with a gazebo, representing the temple of Dalada Maligava, on the right - an elephant with a trainer.
Why with a gazebo? Read below ...
Only once a year there are organized many-day grandiose ritual processions - the festival of Esala Perahera, with fakirs and musicians, dancers and torches. Then, on the largest temple elephant, decorated with silver and precious stones, a sacred relic is taken out in a golden casket. Thousands of thousands of Buddhists and curious travelers flood Kandy these days.
The Kandy Esala Perahera (the Dalada Perahara procession of Kandy) also known as The Festival of the Tooth is a grand festival celebrated with elegant costumes and is held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, which is housed at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. A unique symbol of Sri Lanka, the procession consists of many traditional local dances such as fire-dances, whip-dances, Kandyan dances and various other cultural dances, in addition to the elephants who are usually adorned with lavish garments. The festival ends with the traditional diya-kepeema ritual, a water cutting ceremony which is held at the Mahaweli River at Getambe, Kandy.
The Esala is believed to be a fusion of two separate but interconnected "Peraheras" (Processions) – The Esala and Dalada. The Esala Perahera, which is thought to date back to the III century BC, was a ritual enacted to request the gods for rainfall.
The Dalada Perahera is believed to have begun when the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha was brought to Sri Lanka from India during the IV century CE, eight hundred years after the passing away of Lord Buddha.
According to tradition, the Tooth Relic was taken in procession to Sri Lanka by Princess Hemamala & Prince Dantha.
After the Kandyan Kingdom fell to the British in 1815, the custody of the Relic was handed over to the Maha Sanga (the Buddhist Clergy). In the absence of the king, a chief lay custodian called the "Diyawadana Nilame" was appointed to handle routine administrative matters concerning the relic and its care.
The Kandy Esala Perahera begins with the Kap Situveema or Kappa, in which a sanctified young Jackfruit tree (Artocarpus integrifolia) is cut and planted in the premises of each of the four Devales dedicated to the four guardian gods Natha, Vishnu, Katharagama and the goddess Pattini. Traditionally it was meant to shower blessing on the King and the people.
For the next five nights, the "Devale Peraheras" take place within the premises of the four Devales with the priest of each Devale taking the pole every evening, accompanied by music and drumming, flag and canopy bearers, spearman and the Ran Ayudha (gold Armaments), the sacred insignia of the Gods.
On the sixth night, the Kumbal Perahera begins and continues on for five days. Initially, the Devale Peraheras assemble in front of the Temple of the Tooth, which is Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist Shrine and where the Buddha’s Sacred Tooth Relic has been kept since the 16th Century, with their insignias placed on the ransivige (a dome-like structure) accompanied by the Basnayake Nilames (the lay custodians of the Devales).
The relic casket, which is a replica for the Tooth Relic, is placed inside the ransivige affixed to the Maligawa Elephant, the Maligawa Perahera joins the awaiting Devale Peraheras and leads the procession. Whip-crackers and fireball acrobats clear the path, followed by the Buddhist flag bearers. Then, riding on the first elephant, is the official called Peramuna Rala (Front Official). He is followed by Kandyan Drummers and Dancers who enthrall the crowd, and are themselves followed by elephants and other groups of musicians, dancers and flag bearers. A group of singers dressed in white heralds the arrival of the Maligawa Tusker carrying the Sacred Tooth Relic. The Diyawadana Nilame (traditionally required to do everything in his power to ensure rain in the correct season) walks in traditional Kandyan-clothed splendor after the tusker.
The second procession is from the Natha Devale, which faces the Sri Dalada Maligawa and is said to be the oldest building in Kandy, dating back to the XIV Century.
The third is from the Vishnu Devale (Vishnu being a Hindu god), also known as the Maha Devale. It is situated in front of the main gate of the Natha Devale.
The fourth procession is from the Katharagama Devale (dedicated to the God of Kataragama deviyo, identified with the warrior god Skanda) which is on Kottugodalle Vidiya (a street in Kandy). This procession includes Kavadi, the peacock dance, in which the pilgrim-dances carry semicircular wooden contraptions studded with peacock feathers on their shoulders.
The fifth and final procession is from the Pattini Devale (Pattini being a goddess associated with the cure of infectious diseases and called upon in times of drought and famine), which is situated to the West of the Natha Devale. This is the only procession that has women dances.
The following important times are announced by the firing of cannonballs, which can be heard all across Kandy.
The commencement of the Devale Peraheras
The placing of the casket on the tuskers back
The commencement of the Dalada Perahera
The completion of the Perahera
The Randoli Perahera begins after five nights of the Kumbal Perahera. Randoli refers to palanquins on which the Queens of the ruling Kings traditionally traveled. 2018 Kandy Esala Maha Perahera (Randoli Perahera) was held on 25 August 2018, the full moon poya day with the participation of hundreds thousands people.
After a further five nights of the Randoli Perahera, the pageant ends with the Diya Kepeema, which is the water cutting ceremony at the Mahaweli River at Getambe, a town a few miles from Kandy. A Day Perahera is held to mark the ceremony. 
Denominations in numerals are in three corners, in words - centered.
Revers:
On banknote is The Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) - more concrete - Patthirippua (Octagonal prison tower, built in 1803).
On background is the forest.
Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings and is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple.
Bhikkhus of the two chapters of Malwatte and Asgiriya conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evenings. On Wednesdays there is a symbolic bathing of the relic with an herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers called Nanumura Mangallaya. This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed among those present.
The temple sustained damage from bombings by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1998 but was fully restored each time.
After the parinirvana of Gautama Buddha, the tooth relic was preserved in Kalinga and smuggled to the island by Princess Hemamali and her husband, Prince Dantha on the instructions of her father King Guhasiva. They landed in the island in Lankapattana during the reign of Sirimeghavanna of Anuradhapura (301-328) and handed over the tooth relic. The king enshrined it Meghagiri Vihara (present day Isurumuniya) in Anuradhapura. Safeguard of the relic was a responsibility of the monarch, therefore over the years the custodianship of relic became to symbolize the right to rule. Therefore, reigning monarchs built the tooth relic temples quite close to their royal residences, as was the case during the times of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, Kingdom of Polonnaruwa, and Kingdom of Dambadeniya. During the era of the Kingdom of Gampola, the relic was housed in Niyamgampaya Vihara. It is reported in the messenger poems such as Hamsa, Gira, and Selalihini that the temple of tooth relic was situated within the city of Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte when the Kingdom of Kotte was established there.
During the reign of Dharmapala of Kotte, the relic was kept hidden in Delgamuwa Vihara, Ratnapura, in a grinding stone. It was brought to Kandy by Hiripitiye Diyawadana Rala and Devanagala Rathnalankara Thera. King Vimaladharmasuriya I built a two-storey building to deposit the tooth relic and the building is now gone. In 1603 when the Portuguese invaded Kandy, it was carried to Meda Mahanuwara in Dumbara. It was recovered in the time of Rajasinha II and it has been reported that he reinstate the original building or has built a new temple. The present day temple of the tooth was built by Vira Narendra Sinha. The octagonal Patthirippuwa and moat was added during the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. Famous Kandyan architect Devandra Mulacharin is credited with building the Patthirippuwa. Originally it was used by the kings for recreational activities and later it was offered to the tooth relic. Now it is a library. It was attacked on two occasions, the 1998 Temple of the Tooth attack by the militant organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the 1989 Temple of the Tooth attack by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.
Outwardly, the buildings of the Temple of the Tooth are unremarkable and even modest. The interior decoration of the rooms impresses visitors with luxury, precious decoration, inlaid with silver, rubies, emeralds and ivory. Thousands of figurines depicting the Buddha look at you from every corner of the numerous rooms resembling the Kremlin Golden Chambers. Vintage fanciful frescoes decorate the ceilings.
Every day and year-round foreigners and local religious pilgrims are admitted to the temple. But none of them can see the unique "tooth".
To date, the temple complex includes the royal palace-residence, as well as a gloomy prison tower, built in 1803. All these buildings tourists can inspect, joining the tour group.
Another interesting architectural object is the throne room of the palace of the kings of Kandy, where all the "furniture" is one huge rock, which was processed by Ceylon sculptors.
On top are several Star lotuses - national flowers of Sri-Lanka.
This aquatic plant is native in a broad region from Afghanistan, the Indian subcontinent, to Taiwan, southeast Asia, and Australia. It has been long valued as a garden flower in Thailand and Myanmar to decorate ponds and gardens. In its natural state, N. nouchali is found in static or slow-flowing aquatic habitats of low to moderate depth.
It was also the National flower of the former defunct Hyderabad State. N. nouchali is the national flower of Bangladesh. A pale blue-flowered N. nouchali is the national flower of Sri Lanka, where it is known as nil mānel or nil mahanel (නිල් මානෙල්).
In Sri Lanka, this plant usually grows in buffalo ponds and natural wetlands. Its beautiful aquatic flower has been mentioned in Sanskrit, Pali, and Sinhala literary works since ancient times under the names kuvalaya, indhīwara, niluppala, nilothpala, and nilupul as a symbol of virtue, discipline, and purity. Buddhist lore in Sri Lanka claims that this flower was one of the 108 auspicious signs found on Prince Siddhartha's footprint. It is said that when Buddha died, lotus flowers blossomed everywhere he had walked in his lifetime.
Claire Waight Keller included the plant to represent Sri Lanka in Meghan Markle's wedding veil, which included the distinctive flora of each Commonwealth country.
N. nouchali might have been one of the plants eaten by the Lotophagi of Homer's Odyssey.
On foreground are 2 male peacocks - one is in full plumage.
The Indian peafowl or blue peafowl (Pavo cristatus), a large and brightly coloured bird, is a species of peafowl native to the Indian subcontinent, but introduced in many other parts of the world.
The male, or peacock, is predominantly blue with a fan-like crest of spatula-tipped wire-like feathers and is best known for the long train made up of elongated upper-tail covert feathers which bear colourful eyespots. These stiff feathers are raised into a fan and quivered in a display during courtship. Despite the length and size of these covert feathers, peacocks are still capable of flight. Peahens lack the train, and have a greenish lower neck and duller brown plumage. The Indian peafowl lives mainly on the ground in open forest or on land under cultivation where they forage for berries, grains but also prey on snakes, lizards, and small rodents. Their loud calls make them easy to detect, and in forest areas often indicate the presence of a predator such as a tiger. They forage on the ground in small groups and usually try to escape on foot through undergrowth and avoid flying, though they fly into tall trees to roost.
The function of the peacock's elaborate train has been debated for over a century. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin found it a puzzle, hard to explain through ordinary natural selection. His later explanation, sexual selection, is widely but not universally accepted. In the XX century, Amotz Zahavi argued that the train was a handicap, and that males were honestly signalling their fitness in proportion to the splendour of their trains. Despite extensive study, opinions remain divided on the mechanisms involved.
The bird is celebrated in Hindu and Greek mythology and is the national bird of India. The Indian peafowl is listed as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The royal birds have an unusually unpleasant voice: it seems that a cat with a cold or a man with a complete lack of hearing seems to be learning to play the trumpet. This contrasts with the chic appearance of the bird. Fortunately, the birds of paradise serve the voice infrequently: at the time of danger or in case of approaching rain and thunderstorms.
Until recently, it remained a mystery how these silent birds communicate with each other. Scientists have found that peacocks "speak" with each other at very low frequencies that are not audible to the human ear. This feature explains the ability to "predict" the weather and the approach of a predator. Other animals also differ in the ability to communicate at low frequencies: elephants, giraffes, alligators, whales.
In the upper left corner is the face value by numeral "1000", the right of which is the inscription in Sinhala, Tamil and English, "Central Bank of Sri Lanka". At the bottom of the banknote is an inscription - "One thousand Rupees" in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
Comments:
If you find my work useful I will be grateful for any help in supporting the site.
-
PayPal