The Hathigumbha inscription at Udayagiri, usually placed in the second or first century BCE, is a primary Jain royal inscription attributed to Kharavela, king of Kalinga; the atlas records no publisher and no exact publication year because it is a rock inscription rather than a published text, and its precise date is itself debated among epigraphers. Its strength is that it opens with homage to the arihants and the siddhas, attesting the first two clauses of the Jain homage formula in a datable ancient inscription, though not the full five. Its limit is the ordinary one for royal commemorative epigraphy: it is Kharavela's own account of his reign, and portions of the inscription are damaged and read differently by different scholars.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Reliability tier 1: a primary royal inscription, datable ancient epigraphy though its precise date and damaged portions are read differently by different scholars. NotesJain royal inscription, usually placed in the second or first century BCE. Opens with homage to the arihants and the siddhas, attesting the first two clauses of the Jain homage formula but not the full five.
Citation
AuthorKharavela, king of Kalinga
Source Typeprimary-text
Claims Backed By This Source (6 claims)
This source backs 6 claims across the atlas. As facts: 5 well-attested. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 5 claims: 5 well-attested.
- Mantras, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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