The conquest of Kalinga by Ashoka around 261–260 BCE brought the region into the Mauryan empire and inflicted enormous suffering on its people. Yet Kalinga’s subjugation did not last. Within a few decades of Ashoka’s death around 232 BCE, the Mauryan empire had fragmented, and Kalinga once again emerged as an independent kingdom. By the time of its greatest ruler, Kharavela, it had become one of the leading powers of the subcontinent, able to send armies deep into the Deccan, across the south and into the heart of Magadha itself, the very land from which its earlier conquerors had come.
The dynasty that presided over this revival is known as the Mahameghavahana dynasty, after the name or epithet of its founder, “Mahameghavahana”, which means “he whose vehicle is the great cloud”. Its history is known almost entirely from inscriptions carved in the rock-cut caves of the Udayagiri and Khandagiri hills near Bhubaneswar. The most important of these is the celebrated Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela. This seventeen-line record in Prakrit is one of the earliest royal biographies in Indian history and one of the most important documents of ancient Odisha.
The Mahameghavahanas hold a special place in the history and the historical imagination of Odisha. Kharavela is remembered as a great conqueror and builder, a patron of the arts, and a devout follower of Jainism who nonetheless declared respect for all religious sects. His reign represents the first period in which a ruler of Kalinga speaks to us directly about his own achievements. The caves he and his family excavated for Jain monks remain among the finest early monuments of eastern India. At the same time, the history of the dynasty is beset by uncertainties. The Hathigumpha inscription is badly damaged and has been read in different ways, its date is disputed, and the identification of many of the places and rulers it mentions remains controversial. This article seeks to present what is known about the Mahameghavahanas, while making clear where the evidence is secure and where it is open to debate.
Table of Contents
1. The Sources
The Hathigumpha inscription
The principal source for the Mahameghavahanas is the Hathigumpha (“Elephant Cave”) inscription, engraved on the overhanging brow and roof of a natural cavern on the southern face of the Udayagiri hill near Bhubaneswar. It consists of seventeen lines in Prakrit, written in Brahmi script and covering an area of about 15 by 5.5 feet. Its first eight lines are visible at the front of the cavern and the remaining nine continue onto the sloping roof. A study of the handwriting suggests that three different scribes worked on it. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription)
The inscription was first published by Andrew Stirling in Asiatic Researches vol. 15 in 1825. An eye-copy prepared by Markham Kittoe was published by James Prinsep in 1837, and Alexander Cunningham published a trace in 1877. Bhagwan Lal Indraji published the first cast in 1884 and was the first to recognise that the king it celebrates was named Kharavela. The standard edition and translation was later published by K.P. Jayaswal and R.D. Banerji in Epigraphia Indica vol. 20 (1929–30). Further revised readings followed by B.M. Barua (1938), D.C. Sircar (1942 and 1965) and others. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription; Puratattva: chronology of the inscription)
The condition of the inscription poses serious problems. Lines 1–6 are well preserved, and lines 16–17 are partially preserved. Lines 7 to 15, which describe the middle and later years of the reign, are badly damaged, with large gaps and letters distorted by weathering, dripping water and even hornets. They can be read in many different ways. Richard Salomon has observed that the readings, translations and historical interpretations of the inscription vary so widely that no single standard version can be established. He also notes that different interpretations have produced significantly different histories of ancient India. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription) The inscription is moreover a panegyric, an early example of the prashasti genre, whose purpose was to glorify the king. Its claims of conquest must be read with this in mind.
The minor cave inscriptions
The Hathigumpha record is supplemented by several shorter Prakrit inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves. An inscription in the upper storey of the Manchapuri cave records that the cave was made by the chief queen of Kharavela, the daughter of a king named Lalaka. Another in the lower storey of the same cave records the cave of Kudepasiri, who bears the titles of overlord of Kalinga and Mahameghavahana. A third names a prince Vaduka. Other short inscriptions record the dedication of individual caves by officials and private donors. (Wikipedia: Minor Inscriptions of Kharavela) These records help to reconstruct the royal family and its patronage, though they too have been read in different ways.
Records from outside Kalinga
Records from outside Odisha shed further light on the dynasty and its later branches. Inscriptions discovered at Guntupalli in Andhra Pradesh mention kings of the Sada family who described themselves as rulers of Kalinga and Mahisaka and as belonging to the Mahameghavahana family. Records from Dakshina Kosala attest to a later lineage of “Meghas” whom some historians connect with the Mahameghavahanas. (Wikipedia: Mahameghavahana dynasty)
Archaeology
Archaeology provides the material context. The Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves themselves, with their architecture and relief sculpture, are the most important monuments of the dynasty. The excavated city of Sisupalgarh, often identified with Kharavela’s capital Kalinganagari, has revealed the scale and planning of a major urban centre of this period. (Wikipedia: Sisupalgarh) Coins, pottery and other finds from Odishan sites illuminate the economy, though no coins can be firmly attributed to the Mahameghavahana kings.
2. Origin, Name and Lineage
The name “Mahameghavahana”
The opening line of the Hathigumpha inscription describes Kharavela as the Aira (or Aila), the great king, the descendant of Mahameghavahana, and the increaser of the glory of the Cheti (Chedi) dynasty. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription) The name Mahameghavahana, “he whose vehicle is the great cloud”, appears to have been the name or epithet of the founder of the line. It was later used as a dynastic designation, since Kharavela’s successor Kudepasiri also styles himself Mahameghavahana in his inscription in the Manchapuri cave. (Wikipedia: Kharavela) The epithet may evoke the god Indra, whose mount is the cloud-elephant, and thus associate the dynasty with royal power and rain-bringing fertility.
The Chedi connection
The reference to the Cheti or Chedi lineage has led most historians to connect the dynasty with the ancient Chedi people, whose homeland lay in central India in the region of Bundelkhand. One widely cited view holds that Mahameghavahana was a king of the Chedi realm (Chedirashtra) who conquered Kalinga and Kosala. (EPFL Graph Search: Mahameghavahana dynasty) It is not clear, however, whether the Mahameghavahanas actually came from central India or merely claimed descent from the celebrated Chedi lineage of epic and Puranic tradition. Some scholars have also connected the Chedi of the inscription with a Chetaraja mentioned in the first line, understood as a family name.
“Aira” and the question of descent
The word read as Aira or Aila in the opening line has been interpreted in several ways. Early scholars such as James Prinsep and Rajendralal Mitra took it to be the king’s personal name. Bhagwan Lal Indraji corrected this error and established that the king’s name was Kharavela. K.P. Jayaswal and R.D. Banerji interpreted Aira as a reference to the Aila dynasty, the mythical lineage descended from Pururavas in Hindu and Jain tradition, from which the Mahameghavahanas may have claimed descent. Other scholars, including B.M. Barua and later Odia historians, have read it as a Prakrit form of the Sanskrit arya, “noble”. (Wikipedia: Kharavela; History of Odisha: Kharavela) Suniti Kumar Chatterji suggested that the name Kharavela itself might be of Dravidian origin. This illustrates the wide range of possibilities that scholars have considered.
The royal line
The Hathigumpha inscription does not state directly the relationship between Mahameghavahana and Kharavela, nor how many kings ruled between them. (EPFL Graph Search: Mahameghavahana dynasty) It is generally accepted that Kharavela was the third king of the dynasty, and some reconstructions place a king sometimes called Vriddharaja between the founder and Kharavela. The minor inscriptions name Kharavela’s chief queen, the daughter of Lalaka, and his successor Kudepasiri, together with a prince Vaduka, whose relationship to the main line is uncertain. Some scholars identify Kudepasiri with a king named Vakradeva. The family tree of the dynasty therefore remains partly hypothetical.
| Ruler | Evidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mahameghavahana | Hathigumpha inscription (as ancestor) | Founder; the name became the dynastic title |
| Intermediate ruler(s) | Inferred | Sometimes called Vriddharaja in modern reconstructions; uncertain |
| Kharavela | Hathigumpha inscription; Manchapuri queen’s inscription | Third ruler; the dynasty’s greatest king |
| Kudepasiri (perhaps Vakradeva) | Manchapuri cave inscription | Successor, styled overlord of Kalinga and Mahameghavahana |
| Vaduka | Minor cave inscription | Prince; relationship uncertain |
The problem of chronology
No Mahameghavahana inscription is dated in an era, so the dynasty’s chronology must be established indirectly, and opinions differ widely. Earlier scholars, including Jayaswal and Banerji, placed Kharavela in the first half of the 2nd century BCE. Their view rested partly on his supposed contemporaneity with the Satavahana king Satakarni and the Indo-Greek ruler Demetrius, and partly on their reading of the reference to the Nanda king. Bhagwan Lal Indraji suggested a date around 103 BCE. D.C. Sircar, on palaeographic grounds and in light of other inscriptions, placed the Hathigumpha inscription in the second half of the 1st century BCE or possibly the early decades of the 1st century CE. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription; Live History India) The art historian Walter Spink has argued that the early dating of Kharavela, and the consequent assumption that he was contemporary with an early Satakarni, led to the widespread misdating of many early Buddhist monuments in the Deccan by two or three centuries. Most recent scholarship therefore favours the later dating. In this article Kharavela is placed broadly in the 1st century BCE, while the uncertainty is acknowledged.
3. Kharavela: The Reign Year by Year
The Hathigumpha inscription is unique among early Indian records in presenting the life of a king in chronological order, from childhood through the thirteenth year of his reign. Romila Thapar has described it as one of the earliest biographical sketches of a king in India. It is the prototype of the royal prashasti that would become so important in later Indian epigraphy. (Live History India) The account below follows the translation of Jayaswal and Banerji, noting significant alternative readings. Passages from the damaged middle lines are especially uncertain.
Early life and coronation
After an invocation to the Arhats and Siddhas of Jainism, the inscription describes Kharavela’s early years. For fifteen years he spent his youth in play. He then mastered royal correspondence, currency, finance, and civil and religious law, became well versed in all branches of learning, and served for nine years as heir apparent (yuvaraja). On completing his twenty-fourth year, he received the great royal consecration (maharajyabhisheka) in the dynasty of Kalinga. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription) This careful account of a prince’s education reflects contemporary ideals of kingship. It corresponds broadly to the stages of life described in normative texts, in which the period of study precedes the responsibilities of adulthood.
The first thirteen years of the reign
| Regnal year | Principal events recorded (Jayaswal and Banerji’s reading) | Reliability |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repairs to the gates, walls and buildings of the capital damaged by a storm; embankments of the Khibira Rishi lake and other tanks; restoration of gardens; total cost 3.5 million (coins); people gratified | Clearly legible |
| 2 | Army of cavalry, elephants, infantry and chariots sent to the west, disregarding Satakarni; reaches the Kanha-bemna river and alarms the city of the Musikas | Legible; identifications debated |
| 3 | Entertainment of the capital with music, dance, festivals and assemblies (samaja) | Legible |
| 4 | Reference to the “Abode of the Vidyadharas” built by earlier Kalinga kings; the Rathikas and Bhojakas made to bow at his feet | Partly legible |
| 5 | Canal excavated by a Nanda king, “103” (or 300) years earlier, extended into the capital from the Tanasuliya road | Legible; interval disputed |
| 6 | Remission of taxes and grant of privileges worth hundreds of thousands to the urban and rural corporations (paura and janapada) | Partly legible |
| 7 | Birth of a child to his queen (reading doubted by Sircar) | Very uncertain |
| 8 | Sack of Goradhagiri and pressure on Rajagriha; a Yavana king said to retreat to Mathura | Very uncertain; Yavana reading considered extremely doubtful |
| 9 | Gifts of wish-fulfilling trees, elephants, chariots and houses; construction of the “Palace of Great Victory” (Mahavijaya) at a cost of 3.8 million | Partly legible |
| 10 | Expedition towards Bharatavasa (northern India) | Uncertain |
| 11 | Destruction of Pithunda, ploughed with asses; breaking up of a confederacy of Tramira (Tamil) countries that had lasted 113 years | Partly legible; identifications debated |
| 12 | Kings of Uttarapatha terrified; Magadha invaded and its king Bahasatimita made to bow; the “Kalinga Jina” taken away by a Nanda king brought back; treasures of Anga and Magadha; gifts from the Pandya king | Partly legible; identifications debated |
| 13 | Gifts and maintenance offered to Jain monks on the Kumari hill; assembly of ascetics; excavation of shelters; compilation of Jain texts | Partly legible |
(Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription, summarising Jayaswal and Banerji in Epigraphia Indica vol. 20)
Two features of this sequence deserve emphasis. First, the account alternates between years devoted to public works, festivals and generosity at home and years devoted to military campaigns abroad. This pattern presents Kharavela as an ideal king who combined martial prowess with care for his subjects. Second, the inscription records large sums of money spent on public projects: 3.5 million in the first year and 3.8 million on the palace in the ninth. Whatever the precise value of these sums, they suggest a wealthy kingdom with a well-organised treasury. The historian Amar Chand Mittal noted that Kharavela must have inherited a rich treasury from his predecessor.
The inscription closes with a series of royal epithets. Kharavela is the King of Peace, the King of Prosperity, the King of Monks and the King of Dharma; a respecter of every sect (sava-pasamda-pujaka) and the repairer of all temples; one whose chariot and army are irresistible; and a descendant of the royal sage Vasu. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription) These epithets combine the ideals of a Jain lay devotee with those of a universal Indian monarch.
4. The Military Campaigns and Their Interpretation
The military achievements recorded in the Hathigumpha inscription are impressive in scope. They describe campaigns to the west, the south and the north. If taken at face value, they would make Kharavela one of the most powerful rulers of his age. Their interpretation, however, is among the most contested aspects of his reign.
The western campaign and the Satavahanas
In his second year, according to the Jayaswal–Banerji reading, Kharavela sent a large army to the west “disregarding Satakarni” and reached the river Kanha-bemna, throwing the city of the Musikas into consternation. The Satakarni mentioned here is generally taken to be a ruler of the Satavahana dynasty of the Deccan. The Kanha-bemna has been identified with the Krishna or with the Wainganga–Kanhan river system, and the Musikas have been placed in various parts of the Deccan. Different scholars interpret the passage differently: as an act of defiance against Satakarni, as an alliance with him, or as a campaign that bypassed his territory. In his fourth year Kharavela is said to have humbled the Rathikas and Bhojakas, peoples of the western Deccan. As Walter Spink has emphasised, the assumption that Kharavela was a contemporary of an early Satakarni has had far-reaching consequences for the dating of Satavahana history and Deccan art. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription)
The southern campaign
In his eleventh year, the inscription records the destruction of Pithunda, a city founded by an earlier king, which was ploughed with asses as a sign of total humiliation. It also records the breaking up of a confederacy of Tramira (Tamil) countries that had lasted 113 years and posed a danger to Kalinga. In his twelfth or thirteenth year, the inscription mentions horses, elephants, jewels and pearls brought from the Pandya king. Pithunda is often identified with the Pitundra of Ptolemy and located in the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh. The reference to a Tamil confederacy has been taken as evidence of Kalinga’s involvement in the politics of the far south. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription) These passages lie in the damaged middle portion of the inscription, and their readings and identifications are not certain.
The northern campaigns and Magadha
The most celebrated campaigns are those against the north. In the eighth year Kharavela is said to have sacked Goradhagiri, identified with the Barabar hills in Bihar, and to have put pressure on Rajagriha, the old capital of Magadha. The same passage was read by Jayaswal as stating that a Yavana (Greek) king named “Dimita” retreated to Mathura on hearing of this exploit. Jayaswal and Banerji identified him with the Indo-Greek ruler Demetrius. This reading is now generally regarded as extremely doubtful. Ramaprasad Chanda and D.C. Sircar showed that the identification produces chronological impossibilities, and Sailendra Nath Sen concluded that, if a Yavana ruler is mentioned at all, he was certainly not Demetrius. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription)
In the twelfth year, the inscription records that Kharavela terrified the kings of Uttarapatha (northern India), drove his elephants into Magadha and made its king, read as Bahasatimita, bow at his feet. He then brought back the Kalinga Jina, which had been carried off by a Nanda king, together with treasures from Anga and Magadha. Some early scholars identified Bahasatimita with the Shunga king Pushyamitra, but Sircar rejected this as chronologically impossible. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription) The recovery of the Kalinga Jina has been widely interpreted as the return of a Jain image or sacred object. Sonya Quintanilla, however, has argued that the absence of anthropomorphic Jain images in this period makes it unlikely that an idol is meant. She suggests that a non-figural sacred object or seat may be intended.
Assessment
The campaigns recorded in the Hathigumpha inscription show that under Kharavela, Kalinga had become a significant power able to project military force far beyond its borders. For Odia historical memory, the expedition to Magadha has a special resonance. Two centuries or more after the Kalinga War, a king of Kalinga humbled the land from which Ashoka had come, and recovered the sacred object that the Nandas had taken. The historian must nonetheless remember that the inscription is a royal panegyric. It celebrates rather than reports, and its accounts of conquest may exaggerate raids or temporary successes into great victories. The damaged state of the text also means that many details, including the names and locations of defeated rulers and peoples, are uncertain. The campaigns are best understood as evidence of Kalinga’s power and ambition in this period, rather than as a precise record of the extent of its dominion.
5. Administration, Public Works, Economy and Society
Kingship and administration
The Hathigumpha inscription presents a clear ideal of kingship. The king is trained in writing, coinage, accounts, law and administration before he assumes power. He is responsible for the welfare of his people as well as for their defence, and he is generous to religious communities of all kinds. The inscription’s account of Kharavela’s education, in which he mastered royal correspondence, currency, finance and the civil and religious laws, implies a sophisticated administrative system with written records, a monetary economy and a body of law. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription) Its references to the urban and rural corporations (paura and janapada), to which Kharavela granted privileges, suggest that organised bodies representing townspeople and country people played a recognised role in the kingdom’s affairs. The details of the administrative structure, such as officials, provinces and revenue system, are not described, and later attempts to reconstruct them in detail go beyond the evidence.
Public works and the capital
The public works recorded in the inscription reveal a kingdom capable of major investment in infrastructure. In his first year Kharavela repaired the gates, walls and buildings of the capital, Kalinganagari, after storm damage. He also constructed embankments for the Khibira Rishi lake and other reservoirs, and restored the city’s gardens, at a recorded cost of 3.5 million. In his fifth year he extended into the capital a canal originally excavated by a Nanda king. In his ninth year he built the Mahavijaya (“Great Victory”) palace at a recorded cost of 3.8 million. The inscription also mentions the construction of towers and the settlement of a hundred masons with exemption from land revenue. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription) These references to water management are particularly significant in a region whose agriculture depended on monsoon rains and on the control of river water.
The identity of Kalinganagari remains uncertain, but many scholars identify it with the fortified city of Sisupalgarh near Bhubaneswar. Excavations there have revealed a nearly square city about 1.2 km on each side, enclosed by massive ramparts and a moat and entered by monumental gateways. Its population has been estimated at 20,000–25,000. (Wikipedia: Sisupalgarh) If the identification is correct, Sisupalgarh provides a vivid material counterpart to the inscription’s account of a capital with walls, gates, reservoirs and palaces.
Economy and society
The wealth implied by Kharavela’s expenditure rested on the agricultural productivity of the Mahanadi delta and on trade. Kalinga’s ports and its position on the routes between north and south India gave it access to commerce by land and sea. Its campaigns may also have brought plunder and tribute, as the inscription’s references to the treasures of Anga and Magadha and the gifts of the Pandya king suggest. Punch-marked coins and coin moulds found at Sisupalgarh indicate the use of coined money, though no coins bearing Kharavela’s name are known. (Mittal, An Early History of Orissa)
The inscription also offers glimpses of social and cultural life. Kharavela, described as versed in the science of the Gandharvas (music), entertained his capital with performances of dance, singing and instrumental music, and with festivals and assemblies. The relief sculptures of the Udayagiri caves, depicting processions, hunts, dances and scenes of courtly and popular life, complement this picture. Together they suggest a vibrant urban culture in which royal patronage of the arts played a central role.
6. Religion, Jainism and the Caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri
Kharavela and Jainism
The Hathigumpha inscription is a Jain record. It opens with the salutation to the Arhats and Siddhas, the Namokar formula of Jainism. It describes Kharavela as a lay devotee who had realised the nature of soul and body, and it records his generous support for Jain monks. In his thirteenth year, on the Kumari hill (the ancient name of Udayagiri), he is said to have offered maintenance and garments to the monks, to have convened an assembly of ascetics and sages from all quarters, and to have built shelters for them. The inscription also refers to the compilation of Jain sacred texts. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription) His recovery of the Kalinga Jina from Magadha was clearly an act of profound religious as well as political significance.
Yet the inscription also describes Kharavela as a respecter of every sect and a repairer of all temples, and it records gifts to Brahmins. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription) This combination of personal devotion to Jainism with a public policy of generosity towards all religious communities was characteristic of many early Indian rulers. It recalls, in a different religious register, the tolerance proclaimed by Ashoka. Kharavela’s reign represents the high point of Jainism in ancient Odisha, and the Udayagiri and Khandagiri hills remained a centre of Jain monasticism and pilgrimage for many centuries afterwards.
The rock-cut caves
The most enduring monuments of the Mahameghavahanas are the rock-cut caves of the Udayagiri and Khandagiri hills, a short distance west of Bhubaneswar. Carved out of sandstone as residences for Jain monks, these caves are among the earliest groups of rock-cut monastic architecture in India. Unlike the great chaitya halls of the western Deccan, they consist mainly of simple residential cells, sometimes fronted by verandahs and arranged around courtyards. Some are single cells; others are large two-storeyed complexes.
The finest is the Rani Gumpha (“Queen’s Cave”) on Udayagiri, a two-storeyed monastery arranged around three sides of a courtyard. Its long sculptured friezes depict royal processions, hunting scenes, dancers and musicians, and narrative episodes whose subjects are still debated. The Ganesh Gumpha contains similar friezes. The Manchapuri cave bears the inscriptions of Kharavela’s chief queen and of Kudepasiri, while the Hathigumpha itself, a natural cavern only slightly enlarged, bears the great inscription. Other caves are named after their sculptural features, such as the Bagh Gumpha (“Tiger Cave”), whose entrance is carved in the form of a tiger’s mouth. On Khandagiri, the Ananta Gumpha is notable for its relief sculpture.
These caves are important not only as religious monuments but as historical documents. Their inscriptions name kings, queens, officials and private donors. Their architecture illustrates the development of rock-cut techniques in eastern India, and their friezes provide some of the earliest pictorial evidence for the dress, ornaments, music, dance, warfare and daily life of ancient Kalinga. The relationship of their sculptural style to that of contemporary sites such as Bharhut and Sanchi has been the subject of much art-historical discussion, and their precise dating is tied to the broader debate about the chronology of Kharavela.
7. Successors and Later Branches
Kharavela’s successors in Kalinga
Little is known about the Mahameghavahana kings who succeeded Kharavela in Kalinga. The inscription in the lower storey of the Manchapuri cave records the cave of Kudepasiri, who styles himself Aira Maharaja, overlord of Kalinga and Mahameghavahana. He is generally regarded as Kharavela’s successor and perhaps his son. (Wikipedia: Kharavela; Wikipedia: Minor Inscriptions of Kharavela) Some scholars identify him with a king named Vakradeva. A prince named Vaduka is mentioned in another short inscription, but his position in the family is unknown. After these rulers, the Mahameghavahana line in Kalinga disappears from the record. The history of the region in the following centuries, until the emergence of new local dynasties such as the Matharas in the 4th century CE, is very poorly documented.
The Sada kings of Andhra
Inscriptions discovered at Guntupalli in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, a major early Buddhist site, have shed new light on the dynasty’s wider history. They record kings of the Sada family, among them Maha Sada, Sivamaka Sada and Asaka Sada. These kings describe themselves as rulers of Kalinga and Mahisaka and as belonging to the Mahameghavahana family. (Wikipedia: Mahameghavahana dynasty; EPFL Graph Search: Mahameghavahana dynasty) These records show that the Mahameghavahana name continued to be used by rulers in the coastal Andhra region. They also suggest that the dynasty’s power or prestige extended southwards along the eastern seaboard. D.C. Sircar and other scholars have used the Guntupalli inscriptions to confirm that Kharavela belonged to an established Mahameghavahana lineage of Kalinga, and Richard Salomon has noted that these discoveries have shed further light on the Hathigumpha inscription. (Wikipedia: Kharavela)
The Meghas of Dakshina Kosala
A further lineage associated by some historians with the Mahameghavahanas is that of the Meghas of Dakshina Kosala. According to one widely cited reconstruction, Dakshina Kosala became part of the kingdom during Kharavela’s reign. It later fell under the Satavahanas in the early 2nd century CE, and a lineage of Meghas or Meghavahanas regained power there in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. Some historians suggest that Mahendra of Kosala, defeated by Samudragupta in the 4th century CE, belonged to this Megha line. (Wikipedia: Mahameghavahana dynasty; Wikipedia: Mahendra of Dakshina Kosala) The evidence for this connection is limited, and other scholars have attributed Mahendra to different dynasties. The relationship between the Meghas of Kosala and the Mahameghavahanas of Kalinga therefore remains hypothetical.
| Lineage | Region | Period (approximate) | Evidence | Certainty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahameghavahanas of Kalinga (Mahameghavahana, Kharavela, Kudepasiri) | Coastal Odisha | c. 2nd/1st century BCE – 1st century CE | Hathigumpha and Udayagiri–Khandagiri inscriptions | Secure, though dates disputed |
| Sada kings (Maha Sada, Sivamaka Sada, Asaka Sada) | Coastal Andhra (Kalinga–Mahisaka) | Early centuries CE | Guntupalli inscriptions | Connection stated in their own records |
| Meghas of Kosala | Dakshina Kosala | c. 2nd–4th century CE | Later records; possible link with Mahendra of Kosala | Hypothetical |
Odia Historians on the Mahameghavahanas
The Mahameghavahanas have been a central subject of Odia historical scholarship. For historians from Odisha, the dynasty represents the first great flowering of an independent Kalingan state after the Mauryan conquest. Its inscriptions and caves at Udayagiri and Khandagiri, close to Bhubaneswar, have been studied with particular care. Odia scholars have offered several distinctive interpretations of the dynasty’s origin, chronology and succession.
N.K. Sahu: lineage and chronology
The most influential Odia account of the dynasty is that of Nabin Kumar Sahu, in the Utkal University History of Orissa, vol. 1 (1964), and in his monograph Kharavela (1984). Sahu challenged the widely accepted view that the dynasty belonged to the Chedi lineage. He argued that the reading Cheti in the first line of the Hathigumpha inscription was an artefact of a crack in the stone. In his view, the Chetaraja named there probably refers to Kharavela’s father and immediate predecessor rather than to a dynastic ancestor. He also interpreted the epithet Aira not as a reference to the mythical Aila lineage, as Jayaswal and Banerji had proposed, but as the Prakrit form of arya, “noble”. (Wikipedia: Kharavela)
Sahu placed the dynasty firmly in the 1st century BCE and proposed a detailed chronology. Chedi or Mahameghavahana rule was founded in Kalinga around 73 BCE. Kharavela was born around 64 BCE, served as crown prince around 49–40 BCE and was consecrated around 40 BCE, and the last known date of his career was around 27 BCE. Sahu identified Kudepa (Kudepasiri) and prince Vadukha, named in the lower storey of the Manchapuri cave, as Kharavela’s son and grandson. He assigned their reliefs to the last quarter of the 1st century BCE, on the grounds that they are stylistically later than the Bharhut gateway of the early 1st century BCE. (N.K. Sahu, OHRJ XLVII(3))
Earlier and alternative views
An earlier Odia account, Manmatha Nath Das‘s Glimpses of Kalinga History (1949), placed Kharavela’s birth in 207 BCE, in line with the early chronology then prevailing. It also emphasised the dynasty’s role in the revival of Kalinga “from the depth of ruin” after the Mauryan conquest. (Live History India) Gouri Shankar Tripathy argued in the Odisha Review (2008) for an accession of Kharavela around 159 BCE, which places the dynasty in the 2nd century BCE. (Tripathy, Odisha Review, Nov 2008) The History of Odisha website, edited by Brajabandhu Mahanta, follows the view that Kharavela, son of Chetaraja, was the third ruler of the dynasty, which it also calls the Kalingarajavamsa. It notes the significance of the Guntupalli inscription of Siri Sada, which names him as a Mahameghavahana lord of Kalinga and Mahisaka. (History of Odisha: Kharavela)
The caves and their art
Odia scholars have also made important contributions to the study of the dynasty’s monuments. R.P. Mohapatra‘s Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, H.C. Das‘s Cultural Development in Orissa and S.N. Agrawal‘s Orissan Palaeography are among the works cited in regional studies of the Mahameghavahana period. K.C. Panigrahi‘s Archaeological Remains at Bhubaneswar placed the caves within the wider archaeology of the Bhubaneswar region. (Sadananda Agrawal, Sri Kharavela, bibliography, JainQQ)
| Historian | Work | Principal contribution on the Mahameghavahanas |
|---|---|---|
| Manmatha Nath Das | Glimpses of Kalinga History (1949) | Revival of Kalinga after the Mauryas; early chronology |
| N.K. Sahu | Utkal University History of Orissa, vol. 1 (1964); Kharavela (1984) | Cheti reading as a crack; Aira = arya; chronology c. 73–27 BCE; Kudepa and Vadukha as Kharavela’s son and grandson |
| K.C. Panigrahi | History of Orissa (Hindu Period); Archaeological Remains at Bhubaneswar | Dynastic history and the archaeology of the Bhubaneswar region |
| R.P. Mohapatra | Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves | Study of the caves of the dynasty |
| Gouri Shankar Tripathy | Odisha Review (2008) | Early dating: Kharavela’s accession c. 159 BCE |
| Brajabandhu Mahanta | History of Odisha website | Kharavela as third ruler of the Kalingarajavamsa; significance of Guntupalli |
8. Debates and Assessment
The history of the Mahameghavahanas raises several questions that continue to divide scholars.
The date of Kharavela. As discussed above, proposals range from the early 2nd century BCE to the early 1st century CE. The earlier dates rested heavily on readings now considered doubtful, such as the supposed reference to Demetrius and the identification of Bahasatimita with Pushyamitra. The later dates are supported by palaeography and by the wider chronology of the Satavahanas and of early Indian art. The choice of date affects not only the history of Kalinga but also the chronology of the Deccan and of early Buddhist monuments.
The interval since the Nanda king. The phrase giving the interval between the Nanda king’s canal and Kharavela’s fifth year can be read as 103 or as 300 years. Since the Nanda dynasty was overthrown in the late 4th century BCE, the reading of 300 years fits a 1st-century BCE date for Kharavela. The reading of 103 years would require either a much earlier Kharavela or an otherwise unknown Nanda king. (Wikipedia: Hathigumpha inscription)
The extent of Kharavela’s power. Some writers have presented Kharavela as the ruler of an empire stretching from Magadha to the Tamil country. Others, emphasising the panegyric character of the inscription and the uncertainty of its readings, regard his campaigns as raids and temporary successes rather than lasting conquests. The truth probably lies between these positions. Kharavela was clearly a powerful ruler who led his armies far beyond Kalinga, but there is no evidence that he established lasting control over the distant regions he attacked.
Kharavela in historical memory. In modern Odisha, Kharavela is celebrated as a symbol of Kalinga’s revival and of Odia pride, and the Hathigumpha inscription is cherished as a foundational document of the region’s history. This celebration is entirely understandable. The research scholar must nonetheless distinguish between the evidence of the inscription, read critically and with attention to its uncertainties, and the more expansive claims sometimes made in popular accounts.
Conclusion
The Mahameghavahanas presided over the revival of Kalinga after the Mauryan conquest. Under Kharavela they made it one of the most powerful kingdoms of early India. Their history, known almost entirely from the Hathigumpha inscription and the cave inscriptions of Udayagiri and Khandagiri, reveals a dynasty that combined military ambition with public works, patronage of the arts and devotion to Jainism. That devotion did not prevent a proclaimed respect for all religious communities. Kharavela’s year-by-year record of his reign is a document of exceptional importance, and the caves excavated for Jain monks under his patronage are among the finest early monuments of eastern India.
At the same time, the study of the Mahameghavahanas illustrates the challenges of ancient Indian history. The principal source is damaged, its readings are contested and its date is uncertain. The identification of many places and rulers it mentions remains a matter of debate, and the dynasty’s origins and later history are known only in fragments. Its later branches in Andhra and possibly in Dakshina Kosala hint at a wider history that further discoveries may illuminate. For the history of Odisha, however, the Mahameghavahanas represent a decisive moment: the first time that a ruler of Kalinga speaks to us in his own words, and the first flowering of a regional political and cultural identity that would shape the region’s history for centuries to come.
Chronological Outline
| Date (approximate) | Event |
|---|---|
| 4th century BCE | Nanda rule over Kalinga; canal excavated by a Nanda king; Kalinga Jina taken to Magadha |
| c. 261–260 BCE | Kalinga conquered by Ashoka |
| Late 3rd century BCE | Decline of Mauryan power; Kalinga regains independence |
| c. 2nd/1st century BCE | Rise of the Mahameghavahana dynasty in Kalinga |
| c. 1st century BCE (disputed) | Reign of Kharavela; Hathigumpha inscription recording his first thirteen regnal years |
| Following decades | Kudepasiri (perhaps Vakradeva) succeeds; Udayagiri–Khandagiri caves extended |
| Early centuries CE | Sada kings of the Mahameghavahana family rule in coastal Andhra (Guntupalli inscriptions) |
| c. 2nd–4th century CE | Meghas in Dakshina Kosala (possible connection); Mahendra of Kosala defeated by Samudragupta |
Glossary of Technical Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Mahameghavahana | “He whose vehicle is the great cloud”; name of the dynasty’s founder and dynastic title |
| Chedi (Cheti) | An ancient lineage of central India from which the dynasty claimed descent |
| Aira / Aila | Epithet of Kharavela, interpreted as a lineage name or as “noble” |
| Prashasti | A eulogy of a king in an inscription |
| Yuvaraja | Heir apparent |
| Maharajyabhisheka | Royal consecration |
| Paura and janapada | Urban and rural corporations or communities |
| Kalinganagari | Kharavela’s capital, often identified with Sisupalgarh |
| Kalinga Jina | A Jain sacred object or image recovered by Kharavela from Magadha |
| Kumari hill | Ancient name of the Udayagiri hill |
| Arhat / Siddha | Revered liberated beings in Jainism |
| Gumpha | Cave (Odia) |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Who were the Mahameghavahanas? They were a dynasty that ruled Kalinga after the decline of the Mauryan empire, probably in the 2nd or 1st century BCE. They claimed descent from the Chedi lineage, and their greatest king was Kharavela.
2. What does “Mahameghavahana” mean? It means “he whose vehicle is the great cloud”. It was the name or epithet of the dynasty’s founder and was later used as a royal title.
3. Who was Kharavela? He was the third and greatest king of the Mahameghavahana dynasty. He is known from the Hathigumpha inscription for his public works, festivals, military campaigns and patronage of Jainism.
4. What is the Hathigumpha inscription? It is a 17-line Prakrit inscription in Brahmi script in the Udayagiri hills near Bhubaneswar. It records Kharavela’s life and the first thirteen years of his reign.
5. When did Kharavela rule? His date is disputed. Older scholars placed him in the 2nd century BCE, while many recent scholars prefer the 1st century BCE.
6. What religion did Kharavela follow? He was a devout Jain, but his inscription describes him as a respecter of all sects and a repairer of all temples.
7. What happened to the dynasty after Kharavela? His successor Kudepasiri is known from a cave inscription. Later, kings of the Mahameghavahana family ruled in coastal Andhra, and a possibly related Megha line appears in Dakshina Kosala.
How to Cite This Article
History of Odisha. “The Mahameghavahanas.” historyofodisha.com, 2026. https://historyofodisha.com/the-mahameghavahanas/ (accessed [date]).
This article is a survey intended as a guide. For research, cite the scholarly editions of the inscriptions and the specialist studies listed below directly.
Sources and Further Reading
Web sources consulted
- Hathigumpha inscription — Wikipedia
- Kharavela — Wikipedia
- Mahameghavahana dynasty — Wikipedia
- Mahameghavahana dynasty — EPFL Graph Search
- Minor Inscriptions of Kharavela — Wikipedia
- Mahendra of Dakshina Kosala — Wikipedia
- Sisupalgarh — Wikipedia
- Udayagiri Cave Complex: Hathigumpha and King Kharavela — Puratattva
- Kalinga’s King Kharavela — Live History India
- Kharavela — History of Odisha
- A.C. Mittal, An Early History of Orissa — JainQQ
Epigraphic editions and specialist studies
- K.P. Jayaswal and R.D. Banerji, “The Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela”, Epigraphia Indica, vol. 20 (1929–30), pp. 71–89
- B.M. Barua, Old Brahmi Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves (University of Calcutta, 1929); and “Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela”, Indian Historical Quarterly 14 (1938), pp. 459–485
- D.C. Sircar, Select Inscriptions Bearing on Indian History and Civilization, vol. 1 (University of Calcutta, 1965), no. 91
- Shashi Kant, The Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela and the Bhabru Edict of Asoka: A Critical Study (1971; 2nd edn 2000)
- Richard Salomon, Indian Epigraphy (Oxford University Press, 1998)
- Walter Spink, “On the Development of Early Buddhist Art in India”, The Art Bulletin 40(2) (1958), pp. 95–120
- Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, Some Early Dynasties of South India (Motilal Banarsidass, 1974)
- Sonya Rhie Quintanilla, History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura, ca. 150 BCE–100 CE (Brill, 2007)
Standard books
- R.D. Banerji, History of Orissa, vol. 1 (1930)
- N.K. Sahu (ed.), History of Orissa, Vol. I, Utkal University
- K.C. Panigrahi, History of Orissa (Hindu Period)
- Sadananda Agrawal, Sri Kharavela (Cuttack, 2000)
- Romila Thapar, Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 (2002)
- Upinder Singh, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (Pearson, 2008)
Works by Odia historians
- Manmatha Nath Das, Glimpses of Kalinga History (Calcutta, 1949)
- N.K. Sahu (ed.), History of Orissa, vol. 1 (Utkal University, 1964)
- N.K. Sahu, “Palaeography, Language and Art of Hatigumpha Inscription”, Orissa Historical Research Journal XLVII(3)
- N.K. Sahu, Kharavela (Orissa State Museum, 1984)
- K.C. Panigrahi, Archaeological Remains at Bhubaneswar; History of Orissa (Hindu Period)
- R.P. Mohapatra, Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves
- H.C. Das, Cultural Development in Orissa
- S.N. Agrawal, Orissan Palaeography
- Gouri Shankar Tripathy, “Date Line of Kharavela the Great”, Odisha Review, November 2008