Hathigumpha Inscriptions, Bhubaneshwar City

Description:

The Hathigumpha inscription or the Elephant Cave inscription is found near Udayagiri, Bhubaneshwar city, Odisha. Khareval, the Emperor of Kalinga in ancient India, inscribed the Hathigumpha inscription in the Elephant caves. It consists of deep-cut Brahmi letter incised over seventeen lines over the brow of a cavern, Hathigumpha, in the southern part of the Udayagiri hills. The ancient Kalinga Brahmi script with which the inscriptions are written is supposed to be dated around 150 BC. It is amongst the most archaic type of the Brahmi script.

The inscription is known to be dated around the 165^th year of the reign of Maurya rulers and the 13^th year of the reign of Kharavela. The era of Maurya rules started around 321 BC with the coronation of Chandragupta which makes the date of the Hathigumpha inscriptions to be around 157 BC.

About Hathigumpha Inscriptions

Hathigumpha inscriptions are the primary resource for historians and archeologists to gather information about Kharavela, the ruler of Kalings. The inscription states the several conquest made by the Maurya rulers, starting with his battle against the Satakhami, the ruler of Satavahana. It states that during the second year, Kharavela, dispatched to western areas an army of elephants, infantry, cavalry and chariots. By the time the army reached Kanha-bemna the king threw the city of the Musikas. Then Kharavela, forced Demetrius, the Indo-Greek king, to leave Rajgir and retreat.

History

The Hathigumpha inscriptions were found and introduced to the western world in 1820, by A. Stirling and by James Prinsep who deciphered them. By 1872, the inscriptions were prepared in the form of plaster-cared by H. Locke, which now is preserved by the Indian Museum in Calcutta. This was later published in 1877 by the Alexander Cunningham in the form of Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum.

The first authentic reading and deciphering of the inscriptions is credited to Bhagwan Lal Indiraji, which was presented by him in the Orientalists’ 6^th International Congress in 1885. He was the first scholar to tell the world that the king who was eulogized in the inscriptions was, Kharavela.

How to Reach

By Air:

The nearest airport near Udayagiri is the Biju Patnik airport of Bhubaneshwar. This airport is very well connected to metro cities like Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. International tourists need to change flights from any of the airports at the metro stations.

By Rail:

The nearest railway station near the Udayagiri is the railway station in Bhubaneshwar. It is located 6 km from the center of the city and is extremely well connected with the metro cities like Delhi by BBs Duronto express, Calcutta by Falaknuma express and Chennai by the Coromandal express.

By Road :

Udayagiri is approximately 142 kms from Bhubaneshwar and can be reached in about two hours ten minutes by road. The road is well-maintained and well-connected by many government and private tourist buses that run on the road regularly. Many private taxi services are also available in Bhubaneshwar at reasonable prices, for tourists who want to travel at their own convenience.

Images

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http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=82645

Videos

http://travel.sulekha.com/orissa_monuments.htm

References

http://www.jatland.com/home/Hathigumpha_inscription

http://www.indianetzone.com/56/hathigumpha_inscription.htm

http://questions.gktoday.in/2013/02/hathigumpha-inscription-at-udayagiri-is-related-to___-1781/