Kharavela

{{Short description|Emperor of Kalinga}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}} {{Infobox royalty | title = Chakravartin<ref name="MajumdarBhavan1951"/><br>Kalingadhipati <br>Maharaja | titletext = | image = | caption = | succession = Emperor of Kalinga | reign = 1st century BCE | predecessor = possibly Vriddharaja ({{a.k.a.}} Vudharaja) | successor = Kudepasiri | birth_date = {{circa|1st century BCE}} | birth_place = Kalinga,(Present day Odisha, India) | death_date = | consort = yes | spouse = Sindhula of Sampath <ref name="Hermann_2004">{{cite book |author1=Hermann Kulke |author2=Dietmar Rothermund |title=A History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RoW9GuFJ9GIC&pg=PA101 |year=2004 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-32920-0 |page=101 }}</ref> | issue = Kudepasiri | religion = Jainism | dynasty = Mahameghavahana }} '''Kharavela'''{{efn|also transliterated '''Khārabēḷa'''}} was the emperor of Kalinga (present-day eastern coast of India) in the 2nd or 1st century BC. The primary source for Kharavela is his rock-cut Hathigumpha inscription. The inscription is undated, only four of its 17 lines are completely legible, others unclear, variously interpreted and disputed by scholars. The inscription is written in Brahmi script with Jainism-related phrases recites a year by year record of his reign. He was a follower of Jainism.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |author=Dharmanarayan Das |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcgBAAAAMAAJ |title=The early history of Kaliṅga |publisher=Punthi Pustak |year=1977 |page=155}}</ref>

Kharavela is known for his military campaigns in Northern and Southern India. He has led victorious expeditions against Magadha, Satavahana and Tamil confederacy (lead by Pandya dynasty) and other kingdoms such as Rashtrikas and Bhojakas of Berar and Maharastra regions during his reign.<ref name="କୃଷ୍ଣଚନ୍ଦ୍ର ପାଣିଗ୍ରାହୀ 1986">{{Cite book |last=କୃଷ୍ଣଚନ୍ଦ୍ର ପାଣିଗ୍ରାହୀ |url=https://archive.org/details/history-of-orissa-1986 |title=History of Orissa |last2=Krishna Chandra Panigrahi |last3=Kr̥ṣṇacandra Pāṇigrāhī |last4=Krishna Chandra Panigrahi |last5=Kr̥ṣṇacandra Pāṇigrāhī |date=1986 |publisher=State Committee for Compilation of History of the Freedom Movement Orissa}}</ref><ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964">{{Cite book |last=N. K.Sahu |first=M. A. |url=http://archive.org/details/utkaluniversityh0000nksa |title=Utkal University History Of Orissa |date=1964 |publisher=The Utkal University |others=Servants of Knowledge}}</ref>

He was not only a great military general but also a good administrator. He undertook public works for the benefit of his people and in order to please them he remitted taxes and provided them with the occasions for merrymakings.<ref name="କୃଷ୍ଣଚନ୍ଦ୍ର ପାଣିଗ୍ରାହୀ 1986"/> The Hathigumpha inscription also mentions his public works such as repairing of the gates and buildings of his capital Kalinganagara, which was destroyed by a storm. These repairs and some other public works in the same year cost him thirty-five hundred thousand coins.<ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964"/>

== Early life == === {{anchor|Sources of information}}Lineage === [[File:Hathigumpha inscription (2020).jpg|thumb|Hāthigumphā inscription of Kharavela]] thumb|alt=Rock-cut cave with pillars|The Hathigumpha cave, one of the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves The first line of the Hathigumpha inscription calls Kharavela "''Chetaraja-vasa-vadhanena''" (चेतराज वस वधनेन, "the one who extended the family of the Cheta King").<ref>{{cite book |author1=Martin Brandtner |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ChuAAAAMAAJ |title=Interrogating History: Essays for Hermann Kulke |author2=Shishir Kumar Panda |publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors |year=2006 |isbn=978-81-7304-679-7 |page=96}}</ref> R. D. Banerji and D. C. Sircar interpreted "Cheti" (चेति) to be referring to a dynasty from which Kharavela descended, namely Chedi mahajanapada. According to Sahu, this is incorrect and an artifact of a crack in the stone. The "Chetaraja", states Sahu, probably refers to Kharavela's father and his immediate predecessor.<ref name="NKSahu_1984" />{{rp|18}}

The Hathigumpha inscription also contains a word that has been interpreted as ''Aira'' or ''Aila''. According to a small inscription found in the Mancapuri Cave, Kharavela's successor Kudepasiri also styled himself as ''Aira Maharaja Kalingadhipati Mahameghavahana'' (Devanagari: ऐर महाराजा कलिंगाधिपतिना महामेघवाहन). Early readings of that inscription by scholars such as James Prinsep and R. L. Mitra interpreted ''Aira'' as the name of the king in the Hathigumpha inscription. Indraji's work corrected this error, and established that the king mentioned in the Hathugumpha inscription was Kharavela and that he was a descendant of Mahameghavahana.<ref name="Bhagwan_1883">{{cite book |author=Bhagwanlal Indraji |title=Proceedings of the Leyden International Oriental Congress for 1883 |year=1885 |pages=144–180 |chapter=The Hâtigumphâ and three other inscriptions in the Udayagiri caves near Cuttack |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=womFcFAtU7MC&pg=PA144}}</ref> It does not directly mention the relationship between Mahameghavahana and Kharavela, or the number of kings between them.<ref name="Sailendra_1999">{{cite book |author=Sailendra Nath Sen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA176 |title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization |publisher=New Age International |year=1999 |isbn=978-81-224-1198-0 |pages=176–177}}</ref> Indraji interpreted the inscription to create a hypothetical family tree in 1885,<ref name="Bhagwan_1883" /> but this is largely discredited.

The word ''Aira'' or ''Aila'' was then re-interpreted, by Barua<ref name=":0" /> and Sahu<ref>{{cite book |author=Shishir Kumar Panda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72luAAAAMAAJ |title=Political And Cultural History Of Orissa |publisher=New Age |year=1999 |isbn=9788122411973 |page=58}}</ref> to be the Prakrit form of the Sanskrit word Arya ("noble"). Jayaswal and Banerji interpret the same word to be referring to the Aila dynasty, the mythical Pururavas dynasty mentioned in Hindu and Jain texts; Kharavela's Mahameghavahana family might have claimed descent from this Pururavas dynasty.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Jayaswal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2m1DAAAAYAAJ |title=Epigraphia Indica Volume 20 |author2=Banerji |year=1920 |page=80}}</ref> Scholars such as Sircar and Sharma, based on later discovered Guntupalli inscriptions, state that Kharavela was one of the ancient Mahameghavahana dynasty king from Kalinga.{{sfn|Vyas|1995|pp=31–32}}

=== Education === Kharavela, a ruler of the third generation of the Cheti dynasty of Kalinga, was carefully raised from his early years to develop the qualities required of a king. The Hathigumpha Inscription, through its panegyrist, portrays him as a person endowed with many good qualities of mind and character, and his training was directed toward shaping him into a capable conqueror and administrator. The activities and games of his childhood were probably designed to prepare him for his future royal duties. In addition, he was instructed in Writing (Lekha), Coinage (Rupa), Accountancy (Ganana), Law (Vyavahara), and administrative procedures (Vidhi), which made him skilled in matters of statecraft. The study of Lekha in his education went beyond simple writing and included the practice of royal correspondence and official administration.<ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964"/><ref name="Mittal 1962">{{Cite book |last=Mittal |first=amar Chand |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.100304 |title=An Early History Of Orissa No.16 |date=1962}}</ref>

== Expeditions of Western India ==

=== Encounter with Satkarani I === Kharavela in the second reginal year he dispatched a large army of elephantry, cavalry, infantry and chariots towards the western regions without even caring for Satakarni, who apparently ruled the country to the west of Kalinga. In the course of this expedition, the Kalinga armies are further said to have reached the banks of the Krishnabena river (Krishna) where the city called Asikanagara was threatened.

=== Conquest of Vidyadhara region === Kharavela in the 4th reginal year invaded the invincible Vidyadhara territory that had been the military recruiting ground of the former kings of Kalinga.<ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964"/> Dr. B.M. Barua, thinks that the Vidyadharas were an aboriginal people noted for their magical skill and lived in Arkatpur (modern Arkad or Arcot in Madras Pradesh).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barua |first=Beni Madhab |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Old_Br%C4%81hm%C4%AB_Inscriptions_in_the_Udayagi/QsstAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=Old%20Br%C4%81hm%C4%AB%20Inscriptions%20in%20the%20Udayagiri%20and%20Khandagiri%20Caves&kptab=overview |title=Old Brāhmī Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves |date=1929 |publisher=University of Calcutta |language=en}}</ref> In the Jaina literature, the Vidyadharas are known as a tribal people residing in the Vindhya mountains. NK Sahu identifies it with the eighteen forest kingdoms or Sarvatavika Rajya of the Allahabad Inscription of Samudragupta as well as the eighteen Vidyadhara settlements of the Jaina work.<ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964"/>

=== Subjugation of Rathikas and Bhojakas === In the fourth year of his reign, an expedition was launched against the Bhojakas the ruling chiefs of Berar, and the Rathikas of the adjoining Marathi-speaking districts of East Khandesh and Ahmednagar, who were defeated and compelled to do homage.<ref name="Sastri 1957">{{Cite book |last=Sastri |first=K. a Nilakanta |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.532644 |title=Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas) |date=1957}}</ref> It may be pointed out that Maharathi-Tranakairo, who was the father-in-law of Satakarni I, was probably the Chief of the Rathikas and either he or his successor had to sustain the defeat.<ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964"/> Prof EJ Rapson, on the other hand, held that the Rashtrikas belonged to the Maratha country and the Bhojakas to the Berar region, but both were feudatories of the Andhra kings of Pratishthana.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Cambridge_History_of_India_Ancient_I/5yZuAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=cambridge%20history%20of%20india%20vol%201 |title=The Cambridge History of India: Ancient India, edited by E. J. Rapson |date=1922 |publisher=University Press |language=en}}</ref>

The geographical location of the Rathikas and Bhojakas, as well as, the relationship between the Satavahanas and the Rathikas clearly indicate that Kharavela war with the Rathikas and Bhojakas could not have been possible without an encounter against the Satavahana power. As a consequence of this victory, Kharavela’s suzerainty could spread over the Deccan from sea to sea.<ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964"/>

== Northern India Conquests ==

=== Siege of Rajagriha === In the eighth year of his reign Kharavela undertook his first expedition against the North.The strong fort of the Gorathagiri, one of the hill fortresses guarding Rajagrha, was demolished and the city was put into great trouble. His armies marched past the Barabar hills in the Gaya district, destroying its fortifications, and laid siege to the city of Rajagriha.<ref name="Sastri 1957" /> The news of these exploits of Kharavela caused so much terror in the heart of a Yavana king Dimata, that he fled to Mathura.<ref name="Mittal 1962"/> The yavanas were apparently, purged out of Mathura which was then a famous stronghold of Jainism. Kharavela diverted the plans to invade Magadha as immediate attention was required towards the North-west, as a result of which Magadha was spared that year<ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964"/>

Kharavela caused so much terror in the heart of a Yavana king that he fled away to Mathura. The Yavana ruler, whose name is some-times doubtfully read as Dimita or Dimata (? Demetrius), was probably a later Indo-Greek ruler of the eastern Punjab.<ref name="S. Ramakrishnan 2001">{{Cite book |last=S. Ramakrishnan |first=General Editor |url=http://archive.org/details/ageofimperialuni07bhar |title=History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume 02, The Age Of Imperial Unity |date=2001 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |others=Public Resource}}</ref>

===Conquest of Magadha=== Brihaspatimitra ruled over Anga, Magadha, Vatsa (Kausambi) and Panchala (Ahichhatra) regions.<ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964" /> He seems to have been related to the Mitra kings of Magadha whose records and coins have been found in the Gaya District. To avenge the humiliation of Kalinga during the time of the Nandas and the Mauryas, Kharavela carried away much booty from Anga and Magadha together with certain Jain images originally taken away by a Nanda king from Kalinga.<ref name="S. Ramakrishnan 2001" />

== Southern India Conquests == After returning from the North, Kharavela faced a formidable challenge from the confederated Tamil States of the South. This alliance comprised the states of the Cholas, Pandyas, Satyaputras, Keralaputras, and the island of Ceylon Tamraparni), which, according to inscriptions, had existed for 130 years prior to Kharavela’s time. Historical records and the Edicts of Ashoka indicate that these territories were never subdued by Mahapadmananda or Chandragupta Maurya and remained independent southern neighbors of the Maurya Empire.<ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964"/>

The Hathigumpha Inscription claims that Kharavela had ploughed down with a plough of asses of the city of Pithuihda, founded by a former king (puram rajanivesitath Plthuiham). Pithumda is taken to be the same as Ptolemy’s Pitundra, the metropolis, in the land of the Maisoloi in the upper part of the Coromandel coast.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ganguly |first=Dilip Kumar |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.148266 |title=Historical Geography And Dynastic History Of Orissa |date=1975}}</ref> The Pandya king, apparently the league’s leader, surrendered and was compelled to offer large quantities of pearls, jewels, and precious stones to Kalinganagara as tribute.<ref name="S. Ramakrishnan 2001"/><ref name="N. K.Sahu 1964"/><ref name="Sastri 1957"/>

== Religion == [[File:Khandagiri caves2.jpg|thumb|Namokar Mantra Inscribed at Hathigumpha Inscription by Kharavela c. 20 BCE.]]

Kharavela is generally called a Jain king.<ref name="Upinder2017">Upinder Singh (2017), Political violence in ancient India, Harvard University Press, pp 252–253</ref> His Hathigumpha inscription begins with a variation of the salute to arihants and siddhas. This is similar to the Jain Pancha-Namaskara Mantra, in which three more entities are invoked in addition to the arihants and siddhas.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wE6v6ahxHi8C&pg=PA163 |title=The Jaina Path of Purification |author=Padmanabh Jaini |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1998 |isbn=9788120815780 |page=163 }}</ref> Other parts of the Hathigumpha inscription, as well as the minor inscriptions found at Udayagiri from around 1st-century BCE use Jain phrases.<ref name="Upinder2017"/> The inscription also states that he brought back a Jina idol from Magadha, which had been taken by a Nanda king.<ref name="Paul2006"/>{{sfn|Vyas|1995|p=32}}

thumb|Carvings of Rishabhanatha with long locks of hair and symbol of bull, yakshi ambika from Ambika Gumpha, Khandagiri hill. 11th century CE Kharavela seems to have been religiously liberal: his inscription describes him as someone who worshipped all gods and repaired temples of all deities.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kishore Ch. Mishra |title=Religious Syncretism And The Jagannath Cult In Orissa |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=61 |year=2001 |page=144 |jstor=44148090 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Haripada Chakraborti |title=Early Brāhmī Records in India (c. 300 B.C.-c. 300 A.D.): An Analytical Study: Social, Economic, Religious, and Administrative |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Kc5AQAAIAAJ |year=1974 |publisher=Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar |page=112 }}</ref> According to Paul Dundas, such claims, also made by Ashoka, were intended to portray the king as a universal ruler.<ref name="Paul2006">{{cite book |author=Paul Dundas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efaOR_-YsIcC&pg=PA392 |title=Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19-977507-1 |editor=Patrick Olivelle |page=392 with footnotes}}</ref> Jain author Hampa Nagarajaiah sees Kharavela's liberalism as an example of the Jain doctrine of ''Anekantamata''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Hampa Nāgrājayya |title=A History of the Early Ganga Monarchy and Jainism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M1JuAAAAMAAJ |year=1999 |publisher=Ankita Pustaka |isbn=978-81-87321-16-3 |page=10 }}</ref> According to Helmuth von Glasenapp, Kharavela was probably a free-thinker who patronized all his subjects including Jains.<ref>{{citation |last=Glasenapp |first=Helmuth Von |author-link=Helmuth von Glasenapp |title=Jainism: An Indian Religion of Salvation |date=1999 |location = Delhi |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WzEzXDk0v6sC&pg=PA45 |isbn=81-208-1376-6 |trans-title=Der Jainismus: Eine Indische Erlosungsreligion |page=45 }}</ref>

== Biography == {{main|Hathigumpha inscription}}

According to the Hathigumpha inscription, Kharavela spent his first 24 years on education and sports, a period when he mastered the fields of writing, coinage, accounting, administration and procedures of law.<ref name=ei20p80>{{cite book |author1= K P Jayaswal| author2 = R D Banerji|title= Epigraphia Indica Volume XX |year=1920 |url= https://archive.org/details/epigrahiaindicav014769mbp |publisher=Archaeological Survey of India |pages= 80–89 with footnotes}}, {{PD-notice}}</ref> He was the prince to the throne (''yuvaraja'') at 16, and crowned King of Kalinga at age 24. The Hathigumpha inscription details his first 13 years of his reign. Some notable aspects of this reign includes: {{glossary}} {{term|Year 1}} {{defn|Many public infrastructure projects: Kharavela repaired gates and buildings that had been damaged by storms, built reservoirs and tanks, and restored the gardens.<ref name=ei20p80/>}}

{{term|Year 2}}

{{Main|Kharavela's invasion on the Satavahanas}} {{defn|Dispatch of an army with cavalry, elephants, chariots, and men towards a kingdom led by "Satakani" or "Satakamini" (identified with Satakarni, near Krishna river valley). It also mentions Kharavela's threat to a city variously interpreted as "Masika" (Masikanagara), "Musika" (Musikanagara), "Asika" (Asikanagara, capital of Assaka).<ref name="NKSahu_1984">{{cite book |author1=N. K. Sahu |author2=Kharavela (King of Kalinga) |title=Khâravela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xlMhAAAAMAAJ |year=1984 |publisher=Orissa State Museum}}</ref>{{rp|127}}<ref>{{cite book |author1=Hasmukhlal Dhirajlal Sankalia |author2=Bhaskar Chatterjee |author3=Rabin Dev Choudhury |author4=Mandira Bhattacharyya |author5=Shri Bhagwan Singh |title=History and archaeology: Prof. H.D. Sankalia felicitation volume |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uFg8AAAAMAAJ |year=1989 |publisher=Ramanand Vidya Bhawan |page=332 |isbn=9788185205465 }}</ref>

Scholars interpret the events described in the inscription differently. Jayaswal, Banerji and Sen say that Kharavela threatened Satakarni.<ref name="Sailendra_1999"/> According to Bhagwal Lal, King Satakarni of the western region wanted to avoid an invasion of his kingdom by Kharavela and sent him horses, elephants, chariots and men in tribute. That year, Kharavela captured the city of Masika with the aid of the Kusumba Kshatriyas.<ref name="Bhagwan_1883"/> According to Alain Daniélou, Kharavela was friendly with Satakarni.<ref name="Alan_2003"/> Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya writes that Kharavela's army failed to advance against Satakarni and diverged to threaten the city of Asika (Asikanagara).<ref name="Sudhakar_1974">{{cite book |author=Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya |title=Some Early Dynasties of South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78I5lDHU2jQC&pg=PA20 |year=1974 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-2941-1 |pages=44–50 }}</ref>}} {{term|Year 3}} {{defn|Well-versed in Gandharvan music, Kharavela entertained the city with festive gatherings which included singing, dancing and instrumental music.<ref name="Bhagwan_1883"/><ref name="sdstate_inscription">{{cite news|url=http://www.sdstate.edu/projectsouthasia/upload/HathigumphaInscription.pdf |title=Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela of Kalinga |publisher=South Dakota State University |work=Project South Asia |access-date=2015-07-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232906/http://www.sdstate.edu/projectsouthasia/upload/HathigumphaInscription.pdf |archive-date= 3 March 2016 }}</ref>}} {{term|Year 4}} {{defn|Rathikas and Bhojakas bow to him, he built monuments to Vidyadharas}} {{term|Year 5}} {{defn|Kharavela commissioned extended a canal originally built by the Nandas ''ti-vasa-sata'' ago, thus brought it into the capital of Kalinga.<ref name="Rama_1942"/> ''Ti-vasa-sata'' can mean 103 or 300 years.<ref name="Sudhakar_1974"/> Most scholars, such as Barua and Sircar interpret this to be 300 years. This implies that Kharavela came to power about 300 years when this region was under the Nanda dynasty rule.{{sfn|B Barua|1929|pp=42–43 with footnotes}}}} {{term|Years 6–7}} {{defn|His wife, who is stated to be from Vajiragraha family, gives birth to their child. Kharavela exempts taxes and performs charitable works that help hundreds of thousands of people. According to K. P. Jayaswal and R. D. Banerji, the king also performed the Rajasuya sacrifice – a Vedic ritual for the king, then gives gifts to Jain monks and Brahmins.{{sfn|B Barua|1929|pp=43–44 with footnotes}} According to Sircar, this ink impression and reading is doubtful. Similarly the alleged achievements of Kharavela here are problematic and doubtful<ref>D. Sircar (1965), Select Inscriptions Volume 1, Calcutta University Press, page 216 footnotes 1 and 3</ref> Sircar also adds that this should not be read as "sacrifice ritual", but a different similar word with the meaning "royal fortune" he used to give away gifts.<ref>D. Sircar (1965), Select Inscriptions Volume 1, Calcutta University Press, page 215 footnotes 8 and 9</ref>}} {{term|Years 8–9}} {{defn|The record is partially damaged. It mentions a Yavana king running away in fear and retreating to Mathura. Alain Daniélou writes that Kharavela sacked Gorathagiri (near the Barabar Hills) with a large army and subdued the town of Rajagriha (identified with present-day Rajgir).<ref name="Alan_2003"/> According to Ananta Prasad Banerji-Sastri, Kharavela expelled members of the Ajivika sect (a rival of the Jains) from the Barabari caves and mutilated their inscriptions.<ref>{{cite book |author=Radhakumud Mookerji |title=Asoka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXyftdtE1ygC&pg=PA206 |year=1995 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0582-8 |pages=206–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Arthur Llewellyn Basham |title=History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas, a Vanished Indian Religion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BiGQzc5lRGYC&pg=PA158 |year=1951 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1204-8 |pages=158–159 }}</ref>}} {{term|Year 10}} {{defn|Much of the record is lost. The inscription mentions ''Bharatavasa'' and a series of military campaigns with victories. Kharavela defeats the Ava king and broke up the 113-year confederacy of the "T[r]amira" countries which had endangered Kalinga.<ref name="sdstate_inscription"/> Sen and Alain Daniélou interpret "Tramira" as "Dramira" ("Dravidian") confederacy.<ref name="Romila2003">{{cite book |author=Romila Thapar |title=The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyiqZKDlSBMC&pg=PA211 |year=2003 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-302989-2 |pages=211–213}}</ref>}} {{term|Year 12}} {{defn|Parts of this record are lost. Kharavela sends his troops to Uttarpatha (the north), and subdues the king of Magadha. K. P. Jayaswal identified Bahasmita with Pushyamitra Shunga, but Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri discredits this theory. Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya believes that Bahasatimita may have been a king of Kaushambi, and his rule might have extended to Magadha as well.<ref name="Sudhakar_1974"/> This section of the inscription mentions a "Ka[li]ngajinam" taken by Nanda king in the past and he brought it back to Kalinga. Kharavela built a settlement of a hundred masons with a tax exemption.<ref name="sdstate_inscription"/>}} {{term|Year 13}} {{defn|This is the last part of the inscription and praises Kharavela. It also states that he organized a council of ascetics and sages, and constructed a shelter, commissioned the compilation of the text of the seven-fold Angas in the sixty-four letters (scripts). The inscription also claims that Kharavela was a descendant of the royal sage Vasu.<ref name="sdstate_inscription"/>}} {{glossary end}}

=== Succession === Kulke and Rothermund state Kharavela's empire state that the history of ancient India is unclear including the times after Ashoka and Kharavela. Given the lack of major inscriptions by his successors, they surmise that the Kharavela empire likely disintegrated soon after his death.<ref name="Hermann_2004">{{cite book |author1=Hermann Kulke |author2=Dietmar Rothermund |title=A History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RoW9GuFJ9GIC&pg=PA101 |year=2004 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-32920-0 |page=101 }}</ref> A little is known about the next two generations of kings - Vakradeva (a.k.a. Kudepasiri or Vakadepa) and Vadukha - but through the minor inscriptions at Udayagiri.<ref name="Hermann_2004" /> Kharavela was succeeded by Sada dynasty kings.{{sfn|Vyas|1995|p=31}} Siri Sada is mentioned as a Mahameghavahana king in an inscription at Guntupalli.{{sfn|Vyas|1995|p=31}}

== Personality == thumb|Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela. Kharavela's inscription depict him as a man with ruddy and handsome body and had lived a youthful life for 25 years, a keen learner having who received a thorough education and had mastered writing, coinage, accountancy, administration and legal procedures.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Salomon |first=R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYrG07qQDxkC |title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-19-535666-3 |pages=142, 165 with footnote 12, Section 5.5.1.17 on p. 195}}</ref> He is one of the very few early Indian monarchs who proudly proclaim to have been systematically educated in their official inscription.<ref name=":2">J.F. Fleet (1910), The Hathigumpha Inscription, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Cambridge University Press, pp. 824-828, {{JSTOR|25189732}}</ref> The Hathigumpha inscription had portrayed him as a compassionate ruler who made a settlement of a hundred and thousands of masons, giving them exemption from land revenue. It also mentions that he donated royal maintenances, China clothes (silks) and white clothes to the Jain monks and made temples and caves for arahats and sramanas.<ref name=":3">D. Sircar (1965), Select Inscriptions Volume 1, Calcutta University Press, page 213–214 footnote 1</ref>

The inscription states that Kharavela was a great patron of art and music and well versed in the science of Gandharvas. He held festivities and assemblies and entertains his capital with exhibition of dapa, dancing, singing and instrumental music.<ref name=":4">{{cite journal |last=Spink |first=Walter |year=1958 |title=On the Development of Early Buddhist Art in India |journal=The Art Bulletin |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=98–100, context: 95–120 |doi=10.2307/3047760 |jstor=3047760}}</ref>

The inscription praises Kharavela's might and his patronage to all temples, stating that he repaired all the temples and whose chariot and army are irresistible.

== Legacy == Kharavela's inscriptions call him a Kalinga-Chakravartin (Emperor of Kalinga).<ref name="MajumdarBhavan1951">{{cite book |author=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar |title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The age of imperial unity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3dDAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Kalinga-chakravartin%22 |page=213|year=1951 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan}}</ref> He was one of Kalinga's strongest rulers.<ref name="Sailendra_1999" /><ref name="Braj_2003">{{cite book |title=A Comprehensive History Of Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gE7udqBkACwC&pg=PA107 |year=2003 |publisher=Sterling |author1=Baij Nath Puri|author2=Pran Nath Chopra|author3=Manmath Nath Das|author4=AC Pradhan |isbn=978-81-207-2503-4 |pages=107–108}}</ref> The inscription states that after his imperial coronation he repaired the gates, walls and forts of the capital city which had been damaged by storm.<ref name=":3" />

=== Date === The kingdom of Kalinga was invaded by Ashoka c. 262-261 BCE. The Hathigumpha inscription implies that Kalinga regained its independence from the Maurya Empire sometime after Ashoka's death, and Kharavela was born in an independent Kalinga.<ref name="Sailendra_1999" />

In 1885, the colonial era epigraphist Bhagwan Lal Indraji read the 16th line of the Hathigumpha inscription as a reference to ''Maurya kala'' and 165th year after this new timeline, which he called the Mauryan era. Indraji concluded that Kharavela was born in 127 BCE and became king in 103 BCE.<ref name="Bhagwan_1883" /> Indraji's interpretations were questioned by scholars and has been largely rejected.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Rama_1942">{{cite book |author=Rama Shankar Tripathi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOVpOG6MPMcC&pg=PA199 |title=History of Ancient India |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1942 |isbn=978-81-208-0018-2 |pages=199–201}}</ref><ref name="Spinkp95">{{cite journal |last=Spink |first=Walter |year=1958 |title=On the Development of Early Buddhist Art in India |journal=The Art Bulletin |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=99, context: 95–120 |doi=10.2307/3047760 |jstor=3047760}}</ref>

According to Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, the 16th line does not mention ''Maurya kala'' ("Maurya era") but reads ''Mukhya kala'' ("the main era"). Chattopadhyaya relies on the description of Kharavela's fifth regnal year in the Hathigumpha inscription, which he says implies that Kharavela flourished ''ti-vasa-sata'' years after the Nandaraja. Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri identifies Nandaraja with Mahapadma Nanda or one of his sons. The expression ''ti-vasa-sata'' can mean 103 or 300 years; Chattopadhyaya does not consider 103 plausible, since it would contradict Ashoka's records. Based on this, he places Kharavela in the second half of the first century BCE or the first half of the first century CE.<ref name="Sudhakar_1974" />

Depending on the variant readings, different dates continue to be published in post-colonial era texts. Alain Daniélou, for example, places Kharavela between 180 BCE and 130 BCE, identifying him as a contemporary of Satakarni and Pushyamitra Shunga.<ref name="Alan_2003">{{cite book |author=Alain Daniélou |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kwnv3I6qIosC&pg=PA139 |title=A Brief History of India |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-59477-794-3 |pages=139–141}}</ref> According to Rama Shankar Tripathi, Kharavela reigned during the third quarter of the first century BCE.<ref name="Rama_1942" /> Many other scholars, such as D.C. Sircar and Walter Spink, date Kharavela and the Hathigumpha inscription in the 1st-century BCE to early 1st-century CE.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

==See also== *Hathigumpha inscription *Kharavela's Invasion of Vidharbha

== Notes == <references group="lower-alpha" />

==References== ===Citations=== {{reflist|30em}}

===Sources=== * {{cite book|author=B Barua| title= Old Brahmi Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves| year=1929| publisher=University of Calcutta|oclc = 6055302}}; For his updated analysis: B Barua (1938), ''Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela'', Indian Historical Quarterly XIV, pp.&nbsp;459–85 * {{citation |last=Singh |first=Upinder |author-link=Upinder Singh |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq2iCwAAQBAJ |publisher=Pearson PLC |year=2016 |isbn=978-81-317-1677-9 |ref={{sfnref|Upinder Singh|2016}} }} * {{citation |editor-last=Vyas |editor-first=Dr. R. T. |author-link=R.T. Vyas |url={{Google books|fETebHcHKogC|plainurl=yes}} |title=Studies in Jaina Art and Iconography and Allied Subjects |publisher=The Director, Oriental Institute, on behalf of the Registrar, M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara |year=1995 |isbn=81-7017-316-7 }}

Category:1st-century Indian monarchs Category:2nd-century Indian monarchs Category:Mahameghavahana dynasty Category:Emperors in India Category:Jain monarchs