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50 Rupees 2006, Nepal

in Krause book Number: 52
Years of issue: 04.2006
Edition: 20000000
Signatures: Governor: Mr. Bijay Nath Bhattarai
Serie: No Serie
Specimen of: 04.2006
Material: Cotton fiber
Size (mm): 142 х 70
Printer: Giesecke und Devrient GmbH, Muenchen

* All pictures marked magnify 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.

50 Rupees 2006

Description

Watermark:

watermark

Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (ज्ञानेन्द्र शाह).

Avers:

50 Rupees 2006

Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev

The engraving on banknote is made after this photo of Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.

Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (ज्ञानेन्द्र शाह), born 7 July 1947, Katmandu) was the King of Nepal from 2001 to 2008. He was briefly king from 1950 to 1951, when his grandfather, Tribhuvan, was forced into exile in India with the rest of his family. Following the Nepalese royal massacre in 2001, he again became king.

King Gyanendra's second reign was marked by constitutional turmoil. His predecessor King Birendra had established a constitutional monarchy in which he delegated policy to a representative government. The growing insurgency of the Nepalese Civil War during King Gyanendra's reign interfered with elections of representatives. After several delays in elections, King Gyanendra suspended the constitution and assumed direct authority in February 2005, assuring that it would be a temporary situation to suppress the Maoist insurgency. In the face of broad opposition, he restored the previous parliament in April 2006. His reign ended approximately two years later, when the Nepalese Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a republic and abolished the monarchy.

On the picture HM The King wearing Daura-Suruwal.

Daura-Suruwal is a national costume of Nepal, which is worn by males. It is also worn by the people of neighboring Sikkim and Darjeeling.

Thapathali Durbar

Nepal Rastra Bank building (in complex Thapathali Durbar) is centered, on background.

Singha Mahal currently houses Nepal Rastra Bank office.

A sizeable palace, the Singha Mahal, stands on a hill to the south of the Singha Durbar. Once enjoying a fine view over the Bagmati, the palace was built in 1919 by Kishor Narshing and later enlarged. (www.planetware.com)

The text in the center of the Note in Nepali script reads: "SHREE NEPAL RASTRA BANK SHREE PANCH KO SARAKARKO JAMANAT PRAPTA YASAKO RUPAIYAN BHUKTANI MAGNA AYEMA NEPAL RASTRA BANKBATA RUPAIYAN 50 RUPAIYAN PACHAS TURUNTA PAINECHHA" or in English: "GUARANTEED BY HIS MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT RS. 50 RUPEES FIFTY WILL BE PAID IMMEDIATELY BY NEPAL RASTRA BANK ON DEMAND".

Logo

Above it - Nepal Rastra Bank golden jubilee logo. Middle line in the text in Nepali script reads: "ASATO MA SADGAMAYA" or in English "LEAD US FROM THE UNREAL (FALSITY) TO THE REAL (TRUTH)".

Machapuchare

In the middle, on background is Machapuchare or Machapuchre (माछापुच्छ्रे) Lit. "Fish Tail" in English, is a mountain in the Annapurna Himal of north central Nepal. It is revered by the local population as particularly sacred to the god Shiva, and hence is off limits to climbing.

Ashoka Pillar

At the bottom, more to the right side, is an Ashoka Pillar in Lumbini.

The pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns dispersed throughout the northern Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan king Ashoka during his reign in the III century BC. Originally, there must have been many pillars but only nineteen survive with inscriptions, and only six with animal capitals, which were a target for Muslim iconoclasm. Many are preserved in a fragmentary state. Averaging between 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 m.) in height, and weighing up to 50 tons each, the pillars were dragged, sometimes hundreds of miles, to where they were erected.

Lumbinī (लुम्बिनी, "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi district of Nepal. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama (Gautam Buddha). Siddhartha Gautama lived roughly between 623 and 543 B.C. and he founded Buddhism as Gautama Buddha. Lumbini is one of four magnets for pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to the life of the Buddha, the others being at Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya and Sarnath.

It is the place, where the Buddha lived until the age of 29, has a number of temples, including the Mayadevi temple, and others under construction. Also located here is the Puskarini or Holy Pond where the Buddha's mother took the ritual dip prior to his birth and where he, too, had his first bath, as well as the remains of Kapilavastu palace. At other sites near Lumbini, earlier Buddhas were, according to tradition, born, achieved ultimate awakening and finally relinquished earthly form.

Denominations in numerals are in top corners.

Revers:

50 Rupees 2006

Lophophorus impejanusA pair of Himalayan Monals (Lophophorus impejanus), also known as the Impeyan Monal, Impeyan Pheasant, and Danphe, is a bird in the pheasant family,

The bird's natural range extends from eastern Afghanistan through the Himalayas in Pakistan, Kashmir region and the Republic of India (states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh), Nepal, southern Tibet, and Bhutan. There is also a report of its occurrence in Burma.

Ama Dablam

Ama Dablam is a mountain in the Himalaya range of eastern Nepal. The main peak is 6,856 meters, the lower western peak is 6,170 meters. Ama Dablam means "Mother's necklace", the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother (ama) protecting her child, and the hanging glacier thought of as the dablam, the traditional double-pendant containing pictures of the gods, worn by Sherpa women.

Nepalese coat of arms from 1962 till 2006

Nepalese coat of arms from 1962 till 2006 is on the right side.

In 1962 a new national emblem was adopted by Constitution of 16 December 1962. It is:

Emblem: The Nepalese plain cut by the river Gandak, on its right bank a white zebu, and on a rock on the sinister a sitting green pheasant (Himalayan Monal, Lophophorus impejanus - Phasianinæ), and a temple and a tree on the dexter and the Himalayas in the distance, all proper.

Crest: Two kukri’s and two national flags in saltire between a crescent and a sun, the footprints of Sri 108 Gorakhnat in chief.

Crown: The Royal Nepalese crown.

Garland: Two branches of flowering rhododendron.

Supporters: A Nepalese soldier on the dexter and an ancient nepalese huntsman on the sinister.

Motto: jnnI jNm.imq SvGaaRdpI GarIysI (Jananī janmabhūmiśca svargādapi garīyasī / The mother and the motherland are greater than heaven) in devanagiri script on a red ribbon.

After the Nepalese Civil War and the restoration of the House of Representatives, the Cabinet replaced the existing national emblem on 15 December 2006.

Devanagari is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right, does not have distinct letter cases, and is recognisable (along with most other North Indic scripts, with a few exceptions like Gujarati and Oriya) by a horizontal line that runs along the top of full letters.

The footsteps of Guru Gorakshanath 108 (Sri 108 Gorakhna) over the Kukries and flags.

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.

Guru Gorakhnath said "108" means a Brahmn (ब्रह्म), the great cosmic spirit.

The khukuri (Nepali: खुकुरी) is a Nepalese knife with an inwardly curved edge, similar to a machete, used as both a tool and as a weapon in Nepal and neighbouring countries of South Asia. Traditionally it was, and in many cases still is, the basic utility knife of the Nepalese people. It is a characteristic weapon of the Nepalese Army, the Royal Gurkha Rifles and of all Gurkha regiments throughout the world, so much so that many English-speakers refer to the weapon as a "Gurkha blade" or "Gurkha knife". The kukri often appears in Nepalese heraldry and is used in many traditional rituals such as wedding ceremonies.

The Kali Gandaki or Gandaki River (also known as the Narayani in southern Nepal and the Gandak in India) is one of the major rivers of Nepal and a left bank tributary of the Ganges in India. It is also called Krishna Gandaki in Nepal.

The Gurkhas (गोर्खा) are indigenous people of different clans mainly from South Asian country of Nepal. Their name derives from the Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath (8th century). Gurkhas are closely associated with the Khukuri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife and have a well known reputation for their fearless military prowess.

There are Gorkha military units in the Nepalese, British and the Indian army (Gorkhas) enlisted in Nepal.

Logo

Top left 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)".

Denominations in numerals are in top corners. Lower right in words.

Comments:

Hologram security window with denomination inside.

Commemorative banknote.

Released to the 25th anniversary of the Bank of Nepal.

The banknotes with the portrait of king Tribhuvan were printed in Nashik (India). The later issues were supplied by well known western firms such as De La Rue and Giesecke&Devrient.