Ashoka's Kalinga invasion took place in the eighth year of his reign was the only aggressive war fought by the third Mauryan emperor, Ashoka, and the suffering he saw during this war helped turn the Emperor away from violence and towards a more peaceful path. It is one... of the most fiercely fought battles .This distressed Ashoka, who came to realize that all of these deaths were entirely his fault as the aggressor. Within four years his inscriptions stated that even 1,000th a part of the cost of the war would now be a matter of deep regret. Ashoka renounced aggressive war, and spent the rest of his reign promoting Buddhism and concentrating on the enlightened government of his empire (defensive wars continued to be fought around the Empire's borders). This is that is written on one of the Rock Edicts "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
by,
Ram Puniyani
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