@TIinExile is write in saying That Ashoka converted to Buddhism before Kalinga War ..
Some facts #Thread
Ashoka would invade Kalinga in 262 BC whereas we know from minor rock edicts that Ashoka had converted to Buddhism more than two years earlier.
Some facts #Thread
Ashoka would invade Kalinga in 262 BC whereas we know from minor rock edicts that Ashoka had converted to Buddhism more than two years earlier.
No Buddhist text links his conversion to the war and even Ashoka’s eulogists like Charles Allen agree that his conversion predated the Kalinga war. Moreover, he seems to have had links with Buddhists for a decade before his conversion.
The evidence suggests that his conversion to Buddhism was more to do with the politics of succession than with any regret he felt for sufferings of war.
It is likely that when Ashoka usurped the throne, he was opposed by family members who had links to the Jains and the Ajivikas
It is likely that when Ashoka usurped the throne, he was opposed by family members who had links to the Jains and the Ajivikas
He may have responded by reaching out to their rivals, the Buddhists, for support. The power struggle may even explain his invasion of Kalinga. The mainstream view is that Kalinga was an independent kingdom that was invaded by Ashoka .
but there is some reason to believe that it was either a rebellious province or a vassal that was no longer trusted
What is more worrying is how easily modern Indians have come to accept a narrative based on such minimal evidence.
sources
Sanjeev Sanyal book
"The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History."
-The oriya script in the edicts of Ashoka in 2nd century BC
-Ashoka Odia
- Daya Dissanayake's book " who was Ashoka"
Sanjeev Sanyal book
"The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History."
-The oriya script in the edicts of Ashoka in 2nd century BC
-Ashoka Odia
- Daya Dissanayake's book " who was Ashoka"
