Epigraphical Profile & Archaeological Context
Location & Site:Udayagiri Hills, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Historical Period:2nd Century BCE (2nd Century BCE)
Patron Sovereign:Emperor Kharavela of Kalinga
🖋️Primary Inscriptional Text
Brahmi Script • PrakritOriginal Text Transliterated in Devanagari / Regional Script:
नमो अरहंतानं णमो सवसिधानं ... सिरिकदार-पवतो अरहंत-पसादा...
Romanized Transliteration (IAST):
Namo Arahantānam Namo Sava Sidhānam ... Kalingādhipatinā Ceta-rāja-vasa-vadhanena Pasatha-subha-lakkhaṇena...
Scholarly English Translation:
“Salutation to the Arhats (the Omniscient)! Salutation to all the Siddhas (the Liberated Souls)! Emperor Kharavela of the Chedi dynasty recovered the sacred image of Kalinga Jina looted by the Nanda kings and excavated rock-cut caves on Kumari Hill for Digambara ascetics.”
🔬Historical & Epigraphical Significance
The foremost pre-Christian epigraphical record of Indian royalty opening with the sacred Jain Namokar Mantra, providing empirical evidence of Jina worship pre-dating the Mauryan era.
Primary Epigraphical Citations:
- Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XX, pp. 71–89 (Dr. K.P. Jayaswal & R.D. Banerji)
- Barua, B.M., Old Brahmi Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, Calcutta, 1929
Associated Archaeological Monument:
Explore MonumentsUdayagiri & Khandagiri Rock-Cut Caverns
33 rock-cut caves carved into two adjacent hills. Udayagiri contains the world-famous Hathigumpha inscription and the two-storeyed Rani Gumpha, engineered as austere residential cells (lenas) for unclad Digambara monks.