The Hathigumpha Inscription ("Elephant Cave" inscription), from Udayagiri, near Bhubaneshwar in Orissa, was inscribed by Kharavela, the then Emperor of Kalinga in India, during 2nd century BCE. Hathigumpha Inscription consists of seventeen lines incised in deep cut Brahmi letters, on the overhanging brow of a natural cavern called Hathigumpha in the southern side of the Udayagiri hill, near Bhubaneswar in Orissa. It faces straight towards the Rock Edicts of Asoka at Dhauli, situated at a distance of about six miles.
The inscription is written in a type which is considered as one of the most archaic forms of the Kalinga Brahmi script, also suggesting a date around 150 BCE.
The inscription is dated 165th year of the era of the Maurya kings, and 13th year of Kharavela's reign, which, considering the coronation of Chandragupta in 321 BCE as the probable start of the era, makes a date of 157 BCE for the inscription, a date of 170 BCE for Kharavela's accession, and a date of 162 BCE for the conflict against the Yavana king Demetrius.
Read more about Hathigumpha Inscription: Background, Salient Features
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