Kalinga War

The Kalinga War involved a fierce battle over the region of Kalinga between Emperor Ashoka and the King of Kalinga. The battle of Kalinga was decisive in changing the mindset of Emperor Ashoka. After the war, Ashoka renounced his quest for acquiring new territories and adopted the path of peace and harmony.

The kingdom of Kalinga declared itself independent during the rule of Chandragupta. After several unsuccessful attempts, Vindusara, son of Chandragupta relinquished the hope of getting back the kingdom of Kalinga. However, the indomitable spirit of Ashoka was firm in his determination to bring back Kalinga under his reigns and so he fought the bloodiest battle in the history of the Indian Sub-continent.

The disastrous effects of the Kalinga War had far reaching influence on the mind and soul of Emperor Ashoka. The mighty ruler was emotionally moved by the loss of about 1, 00,000 innocent lives. Emperor Ashoka decided to embrace Buddhism and turned to constructive attempts to rebuild his empire on lines of peace and harmony.

Emperor Ashoka tried to reach out to the common masses by his concept of Dharmavijaya whereby the great ruler tried to appease his followers through the policy of love and unity. Emperor Ashoka had built up a systematic body of bureaucratic officials who were entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the needs of the local inhabitants.

The mighty ruler adopted Buddhism as the official religion of the state. Under his able guidance, Buddhism had spread to far off foreign lands and became one of the prominent religions of the world.

Kalinga War changed the historical course of action about Orissa.