KALINGA WAR

CLASS DISCUSSION

BY – Asad Ali Khan and Arjun Kalra

 ARRIVAL OF ASHOKA THE
GREAT

Ashoka was the third emperor of the Mauryan dynasty, grandson

of its founder Chandragupta and son of the second
emperor, Bindusara. Upon Bindusara's death, Ashoka and his
brothers engaged in a war of succession, and Ashoka emerged
victorious after several years of conflict.
LAND CAPTURED BY ASHOKA

Ashoka ruled the entire Indian subcontinent

(except parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala) from
268 B.C.E to 232 B.C.E. Ashoka expanded the
empire of Chandragupta Maurya. It expanded
from present-day Bangladesh in the east to
Afghanistan in the west.

MORE LAND CAPTURED BY

ASHOKA
 ASHOKA’S WAR IN KALINGA
The Kalinga War was fought in ancient India between the Maurya Empire
under Ashoka and the state of Kalinga, an independent feudal kingdom
located on the east coast, in the present-day state of Odisha and northern
parts of Andhra Pradesh. It is presumed that the battle was fought on
Dhauli hills in Dhauli which is situated on the banks of Daya River. The
Kalinga War was one of the largest and deadliest battles in Indian history. [6]
This is the only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to the throne,
and marked the close of the empire-building and military conquests of
ancient India that began with the Mauryan Emperor
Chandragupta Maurya.[7] The war cost nearly 250,000 lives.[7]
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE KALINGA WAR

The Kalinga War had a profound effect on Ashoka. Most probably in the annals
of ancient Indian history, it is the only war which led to a would-be conqueror to
give up his sword.
The Kalinga War prompted Ashoka, already a non-engaged Buddhist, to devote
the rest of his life to ahimsa (non-violence) and to dharma-Vijaya (victory
through dharma). Following the conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka ended the military
expansion of the empire and began an era of more than 40 years of relative
peace, harmony, and prosperity.
While in the short-run Ashoka’s policy of peace brought harmony to the empire,
in the long run it crippled its ability to defend itself from external threats. The
long neglect of the army under Ashoka would be one of the factors that led to the
eventual fall of the Mauryan Empire following his death in 232 BC