Explanation
- A
Kharvela
(a) Kharvela. The Hathigumpha inscription in the Udayagiri caves near Bhubaneswar is a Prakrit record of Kalinga’s Chedi king Kharavela. It narrates his conquests, Jain leanings and public works. That stored name is the official key.
- B
Ashok
(b) Ashok. Ashoka’s Kalinga story lives in his own edicts such as Dhauli and Jaugada, not in Hathigumpha. He is not the key.
- C
Harshavardhan
(c) Harshavardhan. Harsha’s seventh-century career is known from Banskhera, Madhuban and Xuanzang, not Hathigumpha.
- D
Kanishka
(d) Kanishka. Kanishka’s record is Rabatak, Sarnath and Mathura, a Kushan corpus far from Udayagiri-Khandagiri.
Summary. Official key is (a) Kharvela. Hathigumpha is Kharavela’s seventeen-line Prakrit inscription at Udayagiri. Ashoka, Harsha and Kanishka have other named epigraphs. Neighbouring sites are Khandagiri and the Chedi-Mahameghavahana line. Honour the stored Kalinga king.