Kalinga war -The Cold war is over but cold war thinking survives, IAS Preparation - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

In the 12th year of his reign and the 8th year of his coronation, in 261 B.C., Asoka invaded Kalinga.

From the view point of Mauryan imperialism, the conquest of Kalinga was considered necessary for various reasons. From the side of Kalinga, her freedom-loving people were powerful enough to resist the invasion with all their might.

As a result, the Kalinga War became one of the most violent and terrible wars of ancient times. Its outcome became epoch-making to make it one of the most famous wars of world history.

From ancient times Kalinga maintained her identity as a powerful state. It extended from the river Ganges in the east to the river Godavari in the south, covering the eastern seacoast of India. Its northern frontier touched the southern frontier of the Maurya Empire. Modern Orissa covers the core areas of ancient Kalinga.

The power of ancient Kalinga is known from several facts. With many sea ports on her coast, Kalinga was a maritime power with oversee colonies. Her merchants and sailors crossed the Indian Ocean to carry on prosperous trade with south-east Asian countries. Ancient traditions of Burma refer to Kalinga colonies in that country.

From his researches on the ancient geographer Ptolemy’s works, Gerini came to the conclusion that, “The mighty people of Kalinga had established an empire in Burma long before Asoka led his victorious soldiers into Kalinga”. From the Buddhist and Jaina sources also one gets references to Kalinga’s maritime activities. For the fertility of the land because of rivers, and for commercial enterprises outside, the Kalinga people were rich and prosperous.

The Military power of Kalinga was also formidable. Ancient sources refer to her elephant forces as a cause of that strength. The Greek ambassador Megasthenes who lived in the court of Chandragupta Maurya referred indirectly to the military power of Kalinga. According to him, the king of Kalinga in the days of the first Maurya Emperor, maintained for himself a standing bodyguard of “60,000 foot soldiers, 1,000 horsemen, and 700 elephants”. If the king required such a big force to protect himself and his palace, he must have maintained a very big and powerful army to protect his Kingdom.

From the accounts of the Greek writer Diodorus it is known that the Kalinga people possessed the largest size elephants. “Owing to this”, he wrote, “their country has never been conquered by any foreign king, for all other nations dread the overwhelming number and strength of these animals”. Kautilya in his Arthasastra also described the elephants of Kalinga as the best of their varieties in India.