Kharavela and the Chedi Dynasty of Kalinga
Kharavela (193–170 BCE) stands as the greatest king of the Mahameghavahana dynasty of Kalinga — an ancient ruling house that restored Kalinga’s power and prestige in the decades following its devastating war with Ashoka. Known almost entirely through his own Hathigumpha inscription, Kharavela’s reign offers a rare and detailed glimpse into the military campaigns, civic works, and religious patronage of a second-century BCE Indian monarch. For UPSC History Optional aspirants, Kharavela and the Hathigumpha inscription form an important case study in both the political history of post-Mauryan Kalinga and the use of epigraphy as a historical source.
Kharavela and the Mahameghavahana Dynasty
- Kharavela was the greatest king of the Mahameghavahana dynasty of Kalinga, an ancient ruling dynasty that arose in the region following the decline of the Mauryan Empire.
- The main source of information about Kharavela is his famous seventeen-line rock-cut Hathigumpha inscription, found in a cave in the Udayagiri hills, near Bhubaneswar, Odisha. According to the inscription, Kharavela belonged to the Chedi clan.
- During Kharavela’s reign, the Chedi dynasty of Kalinga rose to eminence, restoring the power and glory that Kalinga had lost since its devastating war with Ashoka.
- Kalinga’s military might was reinstated under Kharavela, who led a series of successful campaigns against Magadha, Anga, and the Satavahanas, extending as far south as the Pandyan kingdom (modern Tamil Nadu), and transforming Kalinga into a vast empire.
- Kharavela is credited with breaking the Tamil confederacy in the south, uprooting western powers, and probably defeating an Indo-Greek king.
- Following this victory, the first Sunga emperor of Magadha, Pushyamitra Sunga, is said to have accepted Kharavela’s suzerainty and become a vassal of Kalinga; Pushyamitra also returned the Jina statue of Mahavira to Kalinga.
- Within a remarkably short span of ten years (from his second to twelfth regnal years), Kharavela achieved a series of brilliant victories, extending his suzerainty from the north-western part of India to its farthest southern extent.
- Though religiously tolerant, Kharavela particularly patronised Jainism.
- Under Kharavela’s generalship, the Kalinga state possessed a formidable maritime reach, with trade routes linking it to Simhala (Sri Lanka), Burma (Myanmar), Siam (Thailand), Vietnam, Kamboja (Cambodia), Malaysia, Borneo, Bali, Samudra (Sumatra), and Jabadwipa (Java).
- He appears to have abandoned his throne in the thirteenth year of his reign, and was succeeded by his son Kudepasiri, who is mentioned in a few minor inscriptions.
The Hathigumpha Inscription
Description and Dating
- The Hathigumpha inscription (“Elephant Cave” inscription), from Udayagiri, was inscribed by Kharavela during the second century BCE.
- It consists of seventeen lines, incised in deep-cut Brahmi letters, on a natural cavern called Hathigumpha, on the southern side of the Udayagiri hill, near Bhubaneswar.
- It faces directly towards the Rock Edicts of Ashoka at Dhauli, situated about six miles away — the former hill bearing an inscription of the victory of Magadha, and the latter, one of the victory of Kalinga.
- The inscription is dated to the 165th year of the era of the Maurya kings, and the 13th year of Kharavela’s reign — which, taking the coronation of Chandragupta Maurya in 321 BCE as the probable starting point of the era, yields a date of 157 BCE for the inscription, and 170 BCE for Kharavela’s accession.
- The Hathigumpha inscription opens with an invocation of the Arhats and the Siddhas, in the Jaina style.
Military Achievements of Kharavela
- The Hathigumpha inscription provides the following information on Kharavela’s military activities:
- In the second year of his coronation, without regard for Satakarni, King Kharavela sent a large army westward, consisting of horse, elephant, infantry, and chariot; he also destroyed the capital of the Mushikas, in order to aid the Kaspa (Kashyapa) Kshatriyas.
- In the fourth year, he conquered the Rathikas and Bhojakas — the chiefs of Rathika and Bhojaka, their crowns cast off, their umbrellas and royal insignia thrown aside, and their jewellery and wealth confiscated, were made to pay obeisance at Kharavela’s feet.
- In the eighth year, he invaded Magadha, reaching as far as the Barabar Hills (Gorathagiri), and forced a rival king — described as a “Yavana-raja” — to retreat to Mathura.
- In the twelfth year of his reign, he attacked the king of Uttarapatha, and struck fear among the people of Magadha, compelling their king to pay homage at his feet.
- He brought back the holy idols of Kalinga’s Jain gods (the Blessed Tirthankaras), which earlier Magadhan rulers had carried away following the Kalinga War of the past.
- The Tirthankara’s idol was recovered along with its crown and endowment, and the jewels earlier plundered by king Nanda from the Kalinga royal palace, together with the treasures of Anga and Magadha, were also regained.
Civil and Religious Works of Kharavela
- Kharavela’s reign was not limited to military activity alone — the Hathigumpha inscription also records the following civic and religious achievements:
- In the very first year of his coronation, King Kharavela repaired the gate, rampart, and structures of the fort of Kalinga Nagari, which had been damaged by storm; he also built flights of steps for the cool tanks, and laid out gardens at a cost of thirty-five hundred thousand coins, thereby pleasing all his subjects.
- In the third year of his reign, Kharavela, well versed in the Gandharva-Veda (the science of music), held theatrical performances, dances, and other shows to entertain the capital.
- In the fourth year, he repaired certain sacred buildings known as the “abode of the Vidyadharas.”
- In the fifth year, he extended the old canal — originally excavated by King Nanda, some 300 years earlier — into the capital, Kalinga Nagari, through Tanasuli.
- In the sixth year, Kharavela granted privileges to the Paura and Janapada corporations.
- In the ninth year, Kharavela gave costly gifts to Brahmanas, who accepted them amid lavish feasts — he gave a Kalpa tree (a tree of gold leaves), along with gifts of elephants, horses, and chariots with their drivers, and built, on both banks of the Prachi river, a great palace called the “Place of Victory,” at a cost of 36 lakh silver coins.
- In the twelfth year, he built towers at home, their interiors carved, and placed within them a number of trophies and presents.
- In the thirteenth year, having satisfied himself with the extension of his empire, he devoted his energies to religious acts — at the Kumari Hill (Udayagiri), he undertook work for the Arhat Temple, and the inscription mentions ninety hundred bulls maintained by the king.
- He built, near the Arhat temple, an edifice probably of stone, along with a pavilion on four pillars; the very cave bearing this inscription was also made at this time.
Kharavela’s Religious Character and the Inscription’s Limitations
- Kharavela is described in the inscription as the king of peace and prosperity, the Bhikshu king, and the King of Dharma, who devoted his life to seeing, hearing, and experiencing acts of kalyana (welfare).
- The inscription attests to Kharavela’s liberal religious spirit — he describes himself as “the worshipper of all religious orders, the restorer of shrines of all gods.”
- The Hathigumpha inscription concludes by describing Kharavela’s personality as a confluence of both Raj Rishi and Dhamma Rishi.
- It must be kept in mind, however, that this inscription takes the form of a eulogy, and many of its claims remain doubtful; moreover, Kharavela appears to have been only a conqueror, and not, in the fuller sense, an empire-builder.
Minor Inscriptions of Kharavela
- Besides the celebrated Hathigumpha inscription, there exist several minor Brahmi inscriptions in the twin hills of Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves.
- These minor inscriptions relating to Emperor Kharavela are likewise engraved in the Brahmi script and the Prakrit language, and throw further light on his reign and kingdom.
Conclusion
Kharavela’s reign, reconstructed almost entirely from the Hathigumpha inscription’s own eulogistic testimony, offers a rare window into the ambitions of a post-Mauryan regional power — one whose campaigns reached from Magadha to the Tamil south, whose maritime networks extended across Southeast Asia, and whose civic works matched its military conquests. Yet, as with any single inscriptional source composed to glorify its subject, the claims of the Hathigumpha inscription must be weighed with appropriate caution. For UPSC History Optional aspirants, Kharavela’s Kalinga stands as a valuable case study in both the political history of the second century BCE and the methodological challenges of reading royal epigraphy critically.
