RAJA ANANTHA PADMANABHAN was the king who fought kalinga war against ASHOKA THE GREAT this war was held in 261 BC.In this war more that 110000 peoples were died .It is said that the daya river flowing next to the battle field , become red due to a large amout of blood flown in it.
As a result the cruel and crucked ASHOKA get hurted and he felt that he is wrong so he gone on the way of AHIMSA and it was markwd as the decline of MAURYAN EMPIRE.
The Mauryan army was led by Emperor Ashoka while the Kalinga army was led by Raja Anantha Padmanabha. Kindly note; different accounts exist; with some accounts of it being a confederacy with democratic rulers; and other kings mentioned. But; Anantha Padmanabha has been mentioned as the ruler in various different sources.
Kalinga was a feudal republic state now known as Odisha.
Interesting Facts: -
It was the bloodiest and the most infamous war ever fought between State of Kalinga (present-day Odisha) and Mauryan Empire.
The war was fought in 261 B.C. and was won by the Mauryan Dynasty.
The Mauryan army was led by Emperor Ashoka while the Kalinga army was led by Raja Anantha Padmanabhan.
The Battle of Kalinga began in 8th year of Ashoka’s rule. Before the battle started, Ashoka sent a letter to King of Kalinga or Kalingaraj where Ashoka asked for complete submission of Kalinga to the Mauryan Empire. This was refused by Kalingaraj.
Ashoka’s grandfather, Emperor Chandragupta Maurya tried to conquer Kalinga once but was unsuccessful.
Emperor Bindusara, father of Emperor Ashoka, was in a process of territorial expansion but the independent feudal republic of Kalinga was a major hindrance both politically and economically.
Emperor Bindusara also made attempts to conquer Kalinga but was defeated.
After death of Emperor Bindusara, Emperor Ashoka took a complete charge to annex the State of Kalinga.
When Raja Anantha Padmanabhan declined the proposal of complete submission to Mauryan Empire, Emperor Ashoka led an enormous army to Kalinga.
The Battle of Kalinga was the only battle in which Emperor Ashoka was present physically.
The battle was fought on Dhauli hill and later the whole State of Kalinga was turned into a bloody battlefield.
The battle was fierce and claimed the lives of 150,000 warriors of Kalinga and 100,000 Mauryan warriors.
It is being said that the battle was so fierce that in aftermath of the battle, Daya River flowing next to the battlefield turned completely red because of the bloodshed.
Several thousands of men and women of Kalinga were deported.
Emperor Ashoka did win the Battle of Kalinga and the State of Kalinga was eventually annexed by Mauryan Empire but the sheer number of lives lost and the sight of hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded scattered all other the battlefield filled Emperor Ashoka’s heart with remorse and grief.
It is said in oral history that one woman of Kalinga came to Ashoka after the war and said that the battle took away her husband, father and son from her and she has nothing to live for. Those words moved Emperor Ashoka so much that he adopted the Buddhism and walked the path of Ahimsa or non-violence.
After the Battle of Kalinga, Emperor Ashoka ended his military conquests and completely stopped the territorial expansion policy of Mauryan Empire.
Edicts of Ashoka have records of the response of Emperor Ashoka to Kalinga War.
After the battle, Ashoka embraced the concept of Dhammavijaya or Victory through Dhamma.
Ashoka sent missionaries to Srilanka, Macedonia, Greece and Syria to spread the message of Buddhism and peace.
