KALINGA WAR

Even though the predecessors of Ashoka ruled over a vast empire, the kingdom of Kalinga on the northeast coast of India (present-day Odisha and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh) never came under the control of the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka wanted to change this and invaded Kalinga for the same. The reasons for invading Kalinga were both political and economic. Kalinga was a prosperous region consisting of peaceful and artistically skilled people. Known as the Utkala, Kalinga had important ports and a powerful navy. They had an open culture and used a uniform civil code. Kalinga was under the rule of the Nanda Empire until the empire's fall in 321 BCE. Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta Maurya had previously attempted to conquer Kalinga but had been repulsed. Ashoka set himself to the task of conquering the newly independent empire as soon as he felt he was securely established on the throne.

Kalinga was a part of the Magadha Empire during the time of the Nandas. When the Nandas were defeated by Chandragupta Maurya, Kalinga was an independent state. While Chandragupta Maurya and Bindusara initially wanted to reconquer it, they could not succeed. It was Ashoka who came forward to conquer it again. Also, Kalinga had already expanded its military power and had huge material prosperity due to its trade relations with Java, Malay, and Ceylon, right from the time of Chandragupta to that of Ashoka, and Ashoka could not neglect the importance of Kalinga for the Mauryan Empire.

The Battle of Kalinga began in the 8th year of Ashoka’s rule. Before the battle started, Ashoka sent a letter to King of Kalinga or Kalingaraj where Ashoka asked for complete submission of Kalinga to the Mauryan Empire. This was refused by Kalingaraj. Ashoka’s grandfather, Emperor Chandragupta Maurya tried to conquer Kalinga once but was unsuccessful. Emperor Bindusara, the father of Emperor Ashoka, was in a process of territorial expansion but the independent feudal republic of Kalinga was a major hindrance both politically and economically. Emperor Bindusara also made attempts to conquer Kalinga but was defeated. After the death of Emperor Bindusara, Emperor Ashoka took a complete charge to annex the State of Kalinga.

He attacked Kalinga in 261 BC to further extend his Empire and conquered it successfully, only to be shocked to see the massive destruction caused in terms of both property and human lives. The bloody war at Kalinga left over 100,000 soldiers and civilians dead and more than 150,000 deported. It is being said that the battle was so fierce that in the aftermath of the battle, Daya River flowing next to the battlefield turned completely red because of the bloodshed. This large-scale killing of humans sickened Ashoka so much that he vowed never to fight again and started practising non-violence. While the early part of Ashoka's reign was apparently quite bloodthirsty, he became a follower of the Buddha's teachings after his conquest of the Kalinga.

Emperor Ashoka did win the Battle of Kalinga and the State of Kalinga was eventually annexed by Mauryan Empire but the sheer number of lives lost and the sight of hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded scattered all other the battlefield filled Emperor Ashoka’s heart with remorse and grief. It is said in the oral history that one woman of Kalinga came to Ashoka after the war and said that the battle took away her husband, father and son from her and she has nothing to live for. Those words moved Emperor Ashoka so much that he adopted Buddhism and walked the path of Ahimsa or non-violence. Edicts of Ashoka have records of the response of Emperor Ashoka to Kalinga War. After the battle, Ashoka embraced the concept of Dhammavijaya or Victory through Dhamma. Ashoka sent missionaries to Sri Lanka, Macedonia, Greece and Syria to spread the message of Buddhism and peace.



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