The Kalinga war
In ancient Indian history, two events completely changed the policy and administration of the Indian subcontinent. One of them was the conquest of Magadha by Chandragupta Maurya. The other was the Kalinga war fought by Ashoka the great of the same lineage. The Kalinga war turned the administration of the Indian subcontinent in a completely new direction. It was after this war that the interference of religion in administration started.
The Kalinga war was fought between the Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire and the Kalinga Empire. Kalinga was the region located on the Eastern coast of the subcontinent, which is located in present-day Odisha and North Andhra Pradesh. The battle was the first and last major battle fought by Emperor Ashoka for extending the Mauryan Empire. Through this battle, he became one of the “Chakravartin Samrat” who conquered almost the entire Indian Subcontinent. The Kalinga war was also referred to as India’s largest and bloodiest conflict.
Earlier Kalinga was under the rule of the Nanda Empire which ruled the territory from their capital Patliputra. But it got separated from the Magadhan suzerainty during the revolt of Chanakya and Chandragupta around 321-320 BCE. Chandragupta Maurya as well as Bindusara made no attempts to annex the Kalinga territory again, as they had their eyes upon the revolts and conflicts in the North-Western region. Thus, the acquisition of Kalinga was necessary for Ashoka. Further, several causes made the acquisition of Kalinga necessary.
Causes of the Kalinga war
The following are the factors that contributed to the Kalinga War altogether:
- During the reign of Ashoka, the Kalinga region was encircled by the Mauryan region from three sides. Kalinga was a powerful neighbour, and its existence was considered a continuous threat to the power and authority of the Mauryan Empire.
- Ashoka had high imperialistic ambitions, due to which he was able to subdue most of the Indian subcontinent under the Mauryan Empire. This included the region from the Himalayas in the North to Mysore in the South. An empire like Kalinga, which was not very far from the Mauryan Empire and could prove the vacancy from the Mauryan invasion, was intolerable to Ashoka.
- Kalinga, along with being a powerful Empire, was an economically strong and wealthy empire. Ashoka was also attracted by the prosperity of the region which might have contributed a lot to the development of the Mauryan Empire as a whole. The economic prosperity of Kalinga had been attributed to its overseas trade.
- Kalinga was also acting as the competitor, being contemporary to the Mauryan Empire. The trade routes were an important factor contributing to the growth of trade and commerce of the Kalinga Empire. The Mauryan Empire had good foreign relations and internal resources, but at the same time lacked trade routes that they could take into possession after the acquisition of Kalinga.
- Lama Taranath, a Tibetan author has also mentioned in his texts about the personal rivalry between Ashoka and the Nagas. Nagas might have stolen Ashoka’s jewels. Nagas used the ports of the Kalinga region for entering and exiting the subcontinent. So, with the value of vengeance, Kalinga was invaded by Ashoka.
- Another story that is still famous among the fishermen community of Odisha, is that Ashoka invaded Kalinga after falling in love with Karuvati, a fisherman’s daughter and fiancée of Kalinga’s prince. This can be deemed true as Ashoka had a wife by the name of Karuvati who was also the mother of Ashoka’s son.
- It is also believed that religion also played a very important role in Ashoka’s attack on Kalinga. Ashoka might have chosen to wage a holy war against Kalinga to spread Buddhism and educate people about Buddhism.
The course of War
Megasthenese, the Greek ambassador mentions that the monarch of Kalinga had a challenging force that consisted of a large infantry, cavalry, and elephants. He also mentions that the army of Chandragupta comprised six lakh troops and hence Ashoka’s army might have expanded more than double that.
The war occurred in 261 BCE, and the Mauryan army invaded Kalinga from three directions. But at the same time, the Kalinga army also provided a strong deterrence and opposed the Mauryan army with great fierceness. The nature of the war is determined to be bloody and highly violent. The number of casualties too was very high. According to some reports, the war cost nearly 250,000 lives.
The battle had a long-lasting impact on the Kalinga region.
Consequences of the Kalinga war
The Kalinga war had far-reaching consequences that led to long-lasting impacts on the region. The major loss that was seen due to the Kalinga war was the loss of manpower, life, and property. The war cost nearly 250,000 lives and along with this were those who were injured or imprisoned by the Mauryan army. War did not only cause despair to those who fought but also to the large civilian population.
After Ashoka’s victory in the Kalinga war, Kalinga became a part of the Mauryan Empire, contributing to its growth and development. But the most important consequence of the Kalinga war that twisted history was the impact it had on Ashoka. Ashoka’s mind had transformed due to the horrors of the Kalinga war. The war had a deep impact on Ashoka’s heart and brought changes in his concept of kingship.
After witnessing the massive bloodshed in the war and noticing the loss of lives and properties, Ashoka vowed to conquer mankind through people’s hearts and not through war. His mind was filled with guilt, remorse, and emotion after the war. Ashoka, highly convinced and attracted to Buddhist principles, converted to Buddhism.
Ashoka’s transformation and his conversion to Buddhism led to the spread of Buddhism to a huge extent. Within a decade of Ashoka’s adoption of Buddhism, it was seen as an all-India religion. Some historians even say that Buddhism as a religion evolved in the 6th century BCE, but it spread as a religion only in the 3rd century BCE due to the efforts of Ashoka. He even sent his son and daughter to Ceylon for the spread of Buddhism, and he also maintained friendly relations with Greece, Syria, Macedonia, Egypt, etc. by sending peace missions. Ashoka appointed officials known as Dhamma Mahamatta who travelled to different places in the empire and preached Dhamma to the subjects.
The adoption of Buddhism by Ashoka also led to the extraordinary growth of art, literature, and architecture. The engraving of edicts and construction of stupas act as an important source of information. Ashoka used the Pali language in his edicts.
