kalinga war- Causes and effect
Answers
Explanation:
Effect were
Despite an unexpectedly fierce resistance from the Kalingans, the Maurya Empire claimed victory and annexed the state of Kalinga. This is the only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to the throne. The bloodshed of this war is said to have prompted Ashoka to adopt Buddhism.
Cause were
The vast military strength, wealth and power of Kalinga were the main causes of jealousy for the Magadha Empire and so, Ashoka wanted to re-establish the Magadh power in this state. In the 12th year of Ashoka's reign, he sent a message to the ruler of Kalinga to surrender his empire to the Mauryas.
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Causes of Kalinga War
Powerful neighbour:
The Magadhan Empire during Asoka had surrounded Kalinga in the north, west and south. Tile existence of Kalinga as a powerful neighbour on the border of Magadha was definitely a threat to the power and potentiality of the latter. Thus, Kalinga posed a menace to the grand Magadhan empire. Before Kalinga rose to that extent, Asoka wanted to defeat and capture it.
Imperialistic design of Ashoka:
Asoka’s invasion of Kalinga in 261 B.C. appears to have been actuated by his imperialistic designs. By the time of Asoka’s accession the Magadhan Empire had spread over most parts of India. From the Himalayas in the north to Mysore in the sourth and from the Kabul valley in the north-west to Bengal in the east, the whole territory was under the sovereignty of Ashoka. An independent kingdom of Kalinga, not very far from the centre of gravity of the Magadhan empire, was intolerable for a warlike- king like Chandasoka or Black Asoka .
Economic prosperity of Kalinga:
There were certain economic factors which had created rivalry between Kalinga and Magadha. Kalinga monopolised the oversea trade in the Indian ocean and gained vast wealth. Her wealth also increased from inland trade. Through the Mauryas had foreign relation with the contemporary Hellenistic powers, they had not maintained commercial relation with them. It may also be pointed out that the Mauryas by that time had not built up a naval power and the Navadhyaksha (Superintendent of Shiping) mentioned by Kautilya in his Arthasastra was in charge of policing the rivers, lakes and seashores rather than building ships for maritime trades. So, the economic prosperity of Kalinga became an eye-sore for Magadha.
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Effects of Kalinga War
Loss of man and material
Each and every war in history almost results in the loss of man and money. There was huge loss of man and material in the Kalinga war. In this war 150,000 soldiers from the side of Kalinga were taken as prisoners by Asoka and 100,000 were slain and many others got died out of injuries and epidemic after the war. The war brought miseries not only to those who took to arms but also to a large number of civil population.
Annexation of Kalinga
With the victory of Asoka in the Kalinga war, Kalinga was annexed to Magadhan empire and it constituted its fifth province. The other four provinces of the empire were Prachya, Uttarapatha, Avanti and Dakshinapatha having their capitals at Magadha, Takshasila, Ujjaini and Suvarnagiri respectively. Tosali was the capital of Kalinga and the centre of political activities for the Mauryan administration in Kalinga. Two separate Kalinga edicts of Asoka found at Dhauli and Jaugarh enumerate the pattern of Mauryan administration for the province of kalinga.
Change from Chandasoka to Dharmasoka
The horror of the Kalinga war changed the mind of Asoka. In Rock Edict XIII, Asoka expresses-“In conquering indeed an unconquered country (Kalinga), the slaying, death, deporting that occur there are considered extremely painful and serious by the Devanampiya” This war brought about a great transformation in the heart of Asoka. He was changed from Chandasoka to Dharmasoka with a vow to conquer mankind by conquering the heart of the people and not-to win over them by war.
Acceptance of Buddhism after Kalinga war
The Kalinga War had brought deep feeling or remorse in the mind of Asoka. It drew himself close towards Buddhism. After Kalinga War, he was converted to Buddhism by Upagupta, a Buddhist monk or Nigrodha, the seven year old son of Asoka’s elder brother Sumana whom he had killed or Mogaliputtatissa, the president of the Third Buddhist Council. Whatever the fact might be, Asoka accepted Buddhism after the Kalinga war.
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Appointment of Viceroy and Ministers
As the Kalingans had exhibited their violent protest against the Mouryan authority in the Kalinga war, Asoka wanted to give them a healing touch by providing an administrator tinged with mercy and liberalism. Although, he appointed a prince of royal blood as Viceroy to look after the administration of Kalinga, he also devoted his heart and soul to the smooth running of administration in Kalinga. As per the administration gathered from separate RE I found from Dhauli, Asoka appointed a body of ministers to aid and advise the Kumara Viceroy of Kalinga and to check balance his administrative powers.
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