History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c13.46

v1.c13.46

The great rock inscription of Khāravela, better known as the Hāthigumphā inscription, the great cave temple of Khāravela on the same hill now called Rāṇī Nūr Gumphā and the smaller cave temples excavated by Khāravela’s principal queen and king Kuḍepasiri are the only monuments of kings of the Chedi dynasty of Kaliṅga that have survived up to our times. The Hāthigumphā rock inscription of Khāravela was incised on the convex surface of a large boulder of the top of the Udayagiri hill. Towards the end of the inscription the boulder turns inside sharply and becomes a rock shelter, though not a regular cave. The floor of this rock shelter was divided into a number of caves by rock partitions. The walls of this cave are highly polished like the rock surfaces bearing the edicts of Aśoka, all pillars of Aśoka and the cave temples dedicated for the use of the Ājīvika sect by Aśoka and his grandson, Daśaratha, in the Barābar and the Nāgārjuni hills in the Gaya district. There are a number of pilgrim’s records on these polished walls, all of which belong to the 9th and 10th centuries A. D.