Much of the available information about Kharavela comes from the undated, much damaged Hathigumpha inscription and several minor inscriptions found in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves in present-day Odisha. The Hathigumpha inscription records Kharavela's life until his 38th year, including 13 years of his reign. The inscription is badly damaged; of its 17 lines, only four are completely legible, the rest partly lost and eroded by natural processes. It is open to "widely different" interpretations, giving rise to disputes and speculation by various scholars.
Depending on the variant readings, different dates continue to be published in post-colonial era texts. Alain Daniélou, for example, places Kharavela between 180 BCE and 130 BCE, identifying him as a contemporary of Satakarni and Pushyamitra Shunga. According to Rama Shankar Tripathi, Kharavela reigned during the third quarter of the first century BCE. Many other scholars, such as D.C. Sircar and Walter Spink, date Kharavela and the Hathigumpha inscription in the 1st-century BCE to early 1st-century CE.
Other reasons to doubt Kharavela was a devout Jain is also found in many lines of the Hathigumpha inscription. The repeated mention of violence and wars in the inscription, says Dundas, raises questions whether Kharavela was merely partial to Jainism given the central doctrine of Ahimsa (non-violence) in Jainism.
According to the Hathigumpha inscription, Kharavela spent his first 24 years on education and sports, a period when he mastered the fields of writing, coinage, accounting, administration and procedures of law. He was the prince to the throne (yuvaraja) at 16, and crowned King of Kalinga at age 24. The Hathigumpha inscription details his first 13 years of his reign. Some notable aspects of this reign includes:
Year 1
Many public infrastructure projects: Kharavela repaired gates and buildings that had been damaged by storms, built reservoirs and tanks, and restored the gardens.
Year 2
Dispatch of an army with cavalry, elephants, chariots, and men towards a kingdom led by "Satakani" or "Satakamini" (identified with Kulke and Rothermund state Kharavela's empire state that the history of ancient India is unclear including the times after Ashoka and Kharavela. Given the lack of major inscriptions by his successors, they surmise that the Kharavela empire likely disintegrated soon after his death. A little is known about the next two generations of kings - Vakradeva (a.k.a. Kudepasiri or Vakadepa) and Vadukha - but through the minor inscriptions at Udayagiri. Kharavela was succeeded by Sada dynasty kings. Siri Sada is mentioned as a Mahameghavahana king in an inscription at Guntupalli.
also transliterated Khārabēḷa
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"Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela of Kalinga" (PDF). Project South Asia. South Dakota State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232906/http://www.sdstate.edu/projectsouthasia/upload/HathigumphaInscription.pdf
"Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela of Kalinga" (PDF). Project South Asia. South Dakota State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232906/http://www.sdstate.edu/projectsouthasia/upload/HathigumphaInscription.pdf
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