Kharavela:
The Legend
Aira Maharaja
Mahameghavahana Kharavela
(193 BC – 170 BC) was one of the greatest kings of ancient India. The main
source of information about this great ruler is his seventeen line rock cut
at Hati Gumpha cave in the Udaygiri hills near Bhubaneswar, Odisha. According to the
inscriptions, Kharavela belonged to the Chedi clan. He possessed many auspicious signs
on his body, was gifted with many qualities and was handsome in
appearance. He was the first great historical monarch of ancient Kalinga who belonged to the
soil.
Early life
For first fifteen years of
his life, Kharavela was groomed through for his future role. The princely
education system of ancient India is depicted in the inscriptions of Hati Gumpha. The future kings in
their early life were obliged to pass through a system of education and
learning, in order to dispense their royal duty effectively. They
were required to be proficient in five main subjects:
Lekha (Writing): Mode of state correspondence, necessary for administration.
Rupa (Coinage): Science of currency or money.
Ganana (Arithmetic): Subject of absolute need, specially for
administrators.
Vyavahara (Law): Knowledge of judicial system as well as of the
established Law of the land.
Vidhi (Procedure): A wide subject which included the usages
and customs, various established rules relating to Niyama or Samstha or Dharmasastra.
Similar subjects of education have some other
ancient works like Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Apart from these five
subjects, Kharavela also earned knowledge in various other arts.
Crown Prince Kharavela
At the age of 15, Kharavela became the Yuvaraja (Crown Prince), to assume his royal responsibilities.
With a sound educational background, he as the Crown Prince acquired practical
experience of administration while learning more and more of the above branches
of knowledge.
At the age of 24 years, Kharavela was crowned as the king of Kalinga and began his glorious
rule. He belonged to the third generation of the Mahameghvahana dynasty (250BC – 400 AD).
Kharavela:
The King
1st
year of reign
By the time
Kharavela took to the thrones, his capital city Kalinganagari was earlier devastated by a mighty
storm. Thus it became his priority to fortify the city by going for major
repairs and reconstructions. He repaired the gates, ramparts and structures of Kalingnagari. The
condition of tanks and gardens also were improved for the beautification of the
city. The cost of such work as per Hati Gumpha inscriptions was Thirty five hundred
thousand and the entire expense was disbursed from the royal treasury, without
passing on the taxes to the people. His subjects were pleased by the
king’s works of public welfare.
2nd year of reign
Having
strengthened the capital city, Kharavela enlarged his army which was
already strong and big under the earlier Mahameghavana kings. As per Hati Gumpha inscriptions, Kharavela launched a
military attack on the powerful King Satakarni-I of the Satavahana dynasty of South.
The Mahameghavahanas of Kalinga and the Satavahanas of
the south were contemporary rivals. The Satavahana king Satakarni-I was ruling over the Krishna Godavari region
as well as the Maharashtra region next towards the river Krishna. Kharavela
proved the might of the Kalingan forces by an invasion, with a large army
consisting of horses, elephants, infantry and chariots. The army struck terror
in the city of Asika or Asikanagara which
was probably situated between the rivers Krishna and Godavari. The expedition of the Kalingan army in western and southern directions
proved that Kharavela was powerful enough to challenge the Satavahana supremacy
in the Deccan.
3rd year of reign
After
the successful show of strength outside his own territory, Kharavela focussed
on patronising ancient musical traditions of India during the third year
of his reign. Himself being well versed in the Gandarva Veda (Arts & science of Music), he
arranged festivals and performances like dancing, singing and playing of vocal
and instrumental music in the capital city of Kalingnagari. Large scale feast were organised to please
the population of his capital.
4th year of reign
In the fourth
year of his reign, Kharavela consolidated his position in a territory named Vidyadhara. According
to the inscription, Vidyadhara was established by the earlier kings of Kalinga but had
never been crushed before. The consolidation might mean that a turbulent area
within the kingdom or on its borders was crushed and subdued. The same year,
Kharavela also launched his second invasion of the Satavahana kingdom. His first invasion perhaps was
inconclusive, so a more determined effort was launched to conquer the Western
and Southern regions of India. This campaign resulted in great victory for the Kalingan forces.
The Hati Gumpha Inscriptions
describe the victory as: “The Rashtrika and Bhojaka Chiefs with their crown cast off, their
umbrella and royal insignia thrown aside, and their jewellery and wealth
confiscated, were made to pay obeisance at the feet (of Kharavela).” The Rashtrikas and
the Bhojakas were
ancient races who lived in the Berar and Maharashtra regions, guarding two
sides of the Satavahana territory.
The defeat of the chiefs was a blow to the Satavahana power. Kharavela’s victory over them
brought a large part of the Deccan within the Kalinga Empire.
5th year of reign
In the fifth
year of his reign, Kharavela once again turned his attention to the development
of his capital. A canal which had been dug by Nadaraja ti-vasa-sata ago, was
extended to flow into Kalinganagari through Tanasuli. Tanasuli most probably
was Tosali and Kharavela might have extended the canal to his expanding capital
by way of the old city of Tosali.
6th year of reign
The sixth
year of
Kharavela’s rule saw his great charitable activities and benevolent measures
which were meant for both the urban and rural populations of the empire. He
remitted all taxes and cesses to the extent of many hundred thousands of coins.
It was like a display of the wealth of the king which was meant for the
happiness of the people.
7th year of reign
In the seventh
year, Kharavela’s chief queen, named as the ‘Queen of Vajiraghara’ gave birth
to a son.
8th year
of reign
Kharavela began
his military campaigns in the North during the eighth year of his reign. His
armies marched towards the ancient city of Rajagriha. The fort of Gorathagiri, which stood to protect Rajagriha, was stormed and destroyed. The fort of Gorathagiri, identified with the
modern Barabar hill, was
like a military fortification to protect the capital of Magadha, Pataliputra. When that strong fortification was demolished and
the city of Rajagriha was
brought under the control of the Kalinga army, the people of Pataliputra were struck with
fear and terror.
At that very time something happened which will highlight the
strength of Kharavela’s character. After victory over Rajagriha, when the victorious Kalingan army of
Kharavela was advancing towards the capital of Magadha, the Indo-Greek invaders under their king were also
advancing towards Magadha.
Having occupied Mathura, the Yavana King thought of invading Pataliputra. Unfortunately the
identity of the Yavana king
could not be established due to the damage in the inscriptions of Hati Gumpha. It is
known, however, from the inscription that when the Yavana King heard of
Kharavela’s advance towards Pataliputra, in fear and panic, he quickly retreated
towards his stronghold at Mathura. Magadha was thus saved from foreign invasion because
of Kharavela’s military power. Kharavela thereafter followed the Yavanas towards
Mathura and attacked them. They were defeated and driven out of Mathura by the
forces of the Kalinga Emperor.
Kharavela chose to drive the foreign invader over defeating his arch rival, the
king of Magadha. The
victorious monarch thereupon entered Mathura with his horses, elephants and
chariots and “distributed (gifts) to all houses and inns and with a view to
making gifts universal gave away the spoils of victory to the Brahmanas.”
Kharavela’s northern expedition was, thus, a grand success. He had shown his
power to the Magadhan people
and also to the foreign power by his victories over them.
9th year of reign
In the ninth
year of his rule, Kharavela built the Great Victory palace (the Mahavijaya Prasada),
in his capital Kalinganagari. The
cost of construction of the palace was estimated to be a whopping Thirty eight
hundred thousand coins.
10th year of reign
In the
tenth year of his reign, Kharavela once again led his army to the North, describing
it as a march towards Bharatavarsa for conquests. This second invasion of the
North also ended in victory and success.
11th year
of reign
In the
eleventh year of his reign, Kharavela received jewels and precious stones from
his defeated enemies. That year, he achieved a great military victory in
the South. There existed a confederacy of the Tamil states in the South,
consisting of the territories of the Cholas, Pandyas, Satyaputras, Keralaputra and Tamraparni (Ceylon). The Kalinga ruler
thought it necessary to break its power for his own hegemony in the South. The Hati Gumpha Inscription
states that this Confederacy had maintained its political unity for 1300 years
before the time of Kharavela. In his inscriptions, Asoka mentioned of these
people as living independently outside the Maurya Empire. When Kharavela extended his power over
the Deccan during his earlier invasions of the South, the Tamil powers took
alarm. A struggle for supremacy in the South thus became natural and Kharavela
came out successful in his battles against the Tamil States. He defeated their
combined armies and destroyed their ancient Confederacy which had existed for centuries.
12th year of reign
In
the twelfth year of his reign, with more military campaign, Kharavela took up
his third invasion of the North. According to Hati Gumpha Inscription, Kharavela terrorised the
kings of Uttarpatha by an
army of hundred thousand. His soldiers entered into the Magadhan territory,
and “generated great fear among the people of Magadha while making the elephants and horses drink in
the Ganges.” Kharavela forced the ruling king of Magadha, Brihaspatimitra, to surrender. It was, Kharavela’s revenge
upon Magadha for the
role which the famous king of Magadha, Mahapadma Nanda had played centuries earlier. The Hati Gumpha Inscription
describes that after his great victory, Kharavela brought back from there “the
image of Kalinga Jina
with its throne and endowment that had been taken away by King Nanda and the
Jewels plundered by him from the Kalinga royal palace, along with the treasures of Anga and Magadha.” It is
supposed that during this third invasion of the north, Kharavela’s army was led
to distant lengths of Uttarapatha in the north-west India. Kharavela’s
victory over the north was his greatest achievement as a conqueror. His victory
over Magadha, in
particular, was like the crowning glory of his heroic career.
After such a remarkable
role as a conqueror and a military genius, Kharavela suddenly changed the
course of his career and turned to religious activities. As a Jaina monarch,
he entered upon his new role to champion the cause of Jainism.
13th year of reign
In the thirteenth year of his reign, one finds him as ‘Upasaka Sri
Kharavela’ as described in the Hati Gumpha inscription. Even in that year when
Kharavela was putting an end to his rule as a conqueror, the King of the
Pandyas brought from the south “various pearls, jewels and precious stones
hundred thousand in number” to be deposited at the feet of Kharavela in his
capital Kalinganagari.
The Hati Gumpha Inscription
suddenly closes itself by describing the religious activities of Kharavela in
his thirteenth regional year. That year, therefore, is taken as the last of
Kharavela’s reign. He might have lived for long after giving up kingship and
while devoting his years to religious activities. But the accounts of that part
of his life have not survived for future.
Thus in a brief period of his role as a king, Kharavela achieved splendid victories in Western, Southern and Northern India. He established his supremacy over a large part of India raising thereby the status of Kalinga to that of an empire. Rightly, therefore, Kharavela has been described in the Manchapuri Cave inscription of his chief queen as the ‘Chakravarti’ monarch of Kalinga.
