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The Hathigumpha Inscription is the most important epigraphic source providing information about the reign and achievements of Kharavela, the ruler of Kalinga. It is engraved in the Hathigumpha Cave on the Udayagiri hill near present-day Bhubaneswar in Odisha.

The inscription is written in the Prakrit language and Brahmi script. IGNOU describes it as an important historical record of Kharavela of Kalinga, who ruled in the first century BCE. It provides an almost year-by-year account of the events of his reign.

The inscription provides information about Kharavela's military campaigns, administration, public works, water-management activities and patronage of Jainism. It also refers to his conflicts with the Satavahanas and campaigns towards other regions.

Kharavela belonged to the Mahameghavahana dynasty and was a powerful ruler of Kalinga. The Hathigumpha inscription is important not only for reconstructing his political history but also for understanding the social, cultural and religious conditions of contemporary Kalinga.

The 17 lines of the inscription refer to different aspects of Kharavela's victories and administration. Odisha Tourism also identifies Hathigumpha as the cave bearing Kharavela's inscription and confirms that its 17 lines describe his conquests and governance.