Q. The inscription of Hathigumpha is the source of information about which king?
The inscription is written in a type which is considered as one of the most archaic forms of the Kalinga alphabet, also suggesting a date around 150 BCE.
The inscription is dated 13th year of Kharavela's reign, which has been dated variously by scholars from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE.
- Kharvela
- Ashok
- Harshavardhan
- Kanishka
Answer: Kharvela
Hathigumpha Inscription
The Hathigumpha Inscription ("Elephant Cave" inscription), from Udayagiri, near Bhubaneswar in Odisha, was inscribed by Kharavela, the then Emperor of Kalinga in India, during 2nd century BCE. The Hathigumpha Inscription consists of seventeen lines in a Central-Western form of Prakrit incised in a deep-cut Brahmi script on the overhanging brow of a natural cavern called Hathigumpha in the southern side of the Udayagiri hill, near Bhubaneswar in Odisha. It faces straight towards the Rock Edicts of Ashoka 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 alphabet, also suggesting a date around 150 BCE.
The inscription is dated 13th year of Kharavela's reign, which has been dated variously by scholars from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE.
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