Kalinga War

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=The Kalinga War
date=265-264 BC
place=Kalinga, India
result=Decisive Maurya victory
territory=Kalinga annexed by Maurya Empire
combatant1=Maurya Empire
combatant2=Kalinga
commander1=Ashoka the Great
commander2=Nandidev
strength1=Unknown
strength2=60,000 infantry,Pliny the Elder (77 AD), "Natural History VI", 22.1, quoting Megasthenes (3rd century BC), "Indika", Fragm. LVI.]
1,000 cavalry,
700 war elephants
casualties1=~10,000
casualties2=100,000 [Ashoka the Great (r. 272-231 BC), "Edicts of Ashoka", Major Rock Edict 13.] [Radhakumud Mookerji (1988). "Chandragupta Maurya and His Times". Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 8120804058.]
(including civilians)The Kalinga War (Sanskrit: कलिन्ग युध्धम्) was a war fought between the Mauryan Empire under Ashoka the Great and the state of Kalinga, a feudal republic located on the coast of the present-day Indian state of Orissa. The Kalinga war is one of the major battles in the History of India.

The War

running next to the battle field turned red with the blood of the slain; about 100,000 Kalinga civilians and more than 10,000 of Ashoka's own warriors were among those slain.

Dhauli hill is presumed to be the area where the Kalinga War was fought. The historically important Dhauli hills are located on the banks of the Daya River, 8 km south of Bhubaneswar in Orissa (India). Dhauli hill, with a vast open space adjoining it, has major Edicts of Asoka engraved on a mass of rock by the side of the road leading to the summit of the hill.

The Aftermath

Ashoka had seen the bloodshed with his own eyes. He felt that he was the cause of the destruction.

Ashoka's response to the Kalinga War is recorded in the Edicts of Ashoka. According to some of these (Rock Edict XIII and Minor Rock Edict I), the Kalinga War prompted Ashoka, already a non-engaged Buddhist, to devote the rest of his life to Ahimsa (non-violence) and to Dhamma-Vijaya (victory through Dhamma). Following the conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka ended the military expansion of the empire, and led the empire through more than 40 years of relative peace, harmony and prosperity.

:"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Priyadarsi, conquered the Kalingas eight years after his coronation. One hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died (from other causes). After the Kalingas had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dhamma, a love for the Dhamma and for instruction in Dhamma. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas." Rock Edict No.13 [ [http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html S. Dhammika, "The Edicts of King Ashoka," Kandy, Buddhist Publications Society (1994) ISBN ISBN 9552401046 (on line)] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/Foreign_Views/GreekRoman/Megasthenes-Indika.htm Megasthenes: "Indika"]
* [http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html The Edicts of King Ashoka]