Editing Ashoka (section)

== Kalinga war and conversion to Buddhism ==
{{Main |Kalinga war}}
[[File:Kanaganahalli inscribed panel portraying Asoka (perspective).jpg|thumb|[[Kanaganahalli]] inscribed panel portraying Ashoka and his queens with the [[Brahmi script|Brahmi]] label "King Asoka", 1st–3rd century CE.<ref>{{cite book |title=Indian Archaeology 1997–98 |publisher=ASI |page=Plate 72 |url=http://nmma.nic.in/nmma/nmma_doc/Indian%20Archaeology%20Review/Indian%20Archaeology%201997-98%20A%20Review.pdf |access-date=22 January 2020 |archive-date=22 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122082556/http://nmma.nic.in/nmma/nmma_doc/Indian%20Archaeology%20Review/Indian%20Archaeology%201997-98%20A%20Review.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
Ashoka's inscriptions mention that he conquered the [[Kalinga (historical region)|Kalinga]] region during his 8th regnal year: the destruction caused during the war made him repent violence, and in the subsequent years, he was drawn towards Buddhism.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|pp=49–50}} Edict 13 of the [[Edicts of Ashoka]] Rock Inscriptions expresses the great remorse the king felt after observing the destruction of Kalinga:

{{Blockquote
|text=Directly after the Kalingas had been annexed, began His Sacred Majesty's zealous protection of the Law of Piety, his love of that Law, and his inculcation of that Law. Thence arises the remorse of His Sacred Majesty for having conquered the Kalingas because the conquest of a country previously unconquered involves the slaughter, death, and carrying away captive of the people. That is a matter of profound sorrow and regret to His Sacred Majesty.<ref name="Wikisource Smith">{{cite Wikisource |wslink=Asoka - the Buddhist Emperor of India/Chapter 4 |title=Asoka: The Buddhist Emperor of India |last=Smith |first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Arthur Smith |year=1920 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |page=185}}</ref>}}

On the other hand, the Sri Lankan tradition suggests that Ashoka was already a devoted Buddhist by his 8th regnal year, converted to Buddhism during his 4th regnal year, and constructed 84,000 viharas during his 5th–7th regnal years.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|pp=49–50}} The Buddhist legends make no mention of the Kalinga campaign.{{sfn|Thapar|1995|p=18}}

Based on Sri Lankan tradition, some scholars, such as Eggermont, believe Ashoka converted to Buddhism ''before'' the Kalinga war.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=36}} Critics of this theory argue that if Ashoka were already a Buddhist, he would not have waged the violent Kalinga War. Eggermont explains this anomaly by theorising that Ashoka had his own interpretation of the "[[Middle Way]]".{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=33}}

Some earlier writers believed that Ashoka ''dramatically'' converted to Buddhism after seeing the suffering caused by the war since his Major Rock Edict 13 states that he became closer to the dhamma after the annexation of Kalinga.{{sfn|Thapar|1995|p=18}} However, even if Ashoka converted to Buddhism ''after'' the war, epigraphic evidence suggests that his conversion was a ''gradual'' process rather than a dramatic event.{{sfn|Thapar|1995|p=18}} For example, in a Minor Rock Edict issued during his 13th regnal year (five years after the Kalinga campaign), he states that he had been an ''[[upasaka]]'' (lay Buddhist) for more than two and a half years, but did not make much progress; in the past year, he was drawn closer to the sangha and became a more ardent follower.{{sfn|Thapar|1995|p=18}}

=== Kalinga war ===
According to Ashoka's Major Rock Edict 13, he conquered Kalinga 8 years after ascending to the throne. The edict states that during his conquest of Kalinga, 100,000 men and animals were killed in action; many times that number "perished"; and 150,000 men and animals were carried away from Kalinga as captives. Ashoka states that the repentance of these sufferings caused him to devote himself to the practice and propagation of dharma.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|p=38}} He proclaims that he now considered the slaughter, death and deportation caused during the conquest of a country painful and deplorable; and that he considered the suffering caused to the religious people and householders even more deplorable.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|p=38}}

This edict has been inscribed at several places, including Erragudi, Girnar, Kalsi, Maneshra, Shahbazgarhi and Kandahar.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|p=37}} However, it is omitted in Ashoka's inscriptions found in the Kalinga region, where the Rock Edicts 13 and 14 have been replaced by two separate edicts that make no mention of Ashoka's remorse. It is possible that Ashoka did not consider it politically appropriate to make such a confession to the people of Kalinga.{{sfn|Thapar|1995|pp=30–31}} Another possibility is the Kalinga war and its consequences, as described in Ashoka's rock edicts, are "more imaginary than real". This description is meant to impress those far removed from the scene, thus unable to verify its accuracy.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|p=56}}

Ancient sources do not mention any other military activity of Ashoka, although the 16th-century writer [[Taranatha]] claims that Ashoka conquered the entire Jambudvipa.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=36}}

=== First contact with Buddhism ===
Different sources give different accounts of Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=29}}

According to Sri Lankan tradition, Ashoka's father, Bindusara, was a devotee of [[Brahmanism]], and his mother Dharma was a devotee of [[Ajivika]]s.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|p=42}} The ''[[Samantapasadika]]'' states that Ashoka followed non-Buddhist sects during the first three years of his reign.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|p=43}} The Sri Lankan texts add that Ashoka was not happy with the behaviour of the Brahmins who received his alms daily. His courtiers produced some Ajivika and Nigantha teachers before him, but these also failed to impress him.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|p=47}}

The ''Dipavamsa'' states that Ashoka invited several non-Buddhist religious leaders to his palace and bestowed great gifts upon them in the hope that they would answer a question posed by the king. The text does not state what the question was but mentions that none of the invitees were able to answer it.{{sfn|Lahiri|2015|p=109}} One day, Ashoka saw a young Buddhist monk called Nigrodha (or Nyagrodha), who was looking for alms on a road in Pataliputra.{{sfn|Lahiri|2015|p=109}} He was the king's nephew, although the king was not aware of this:{{sfn|Gombrich|1995|p=7}} he was a posthumous son of Ashoka's eldest brother Sumana, whom Ashoka had killed during the conflict for the throne.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=34}} Ashoka was impressed by Nigrodha's tranquil and fearless appearance, and asked him to teach him his faith. In response, Nigrodha offered him a sermon on [[appamada]] (earnestness).{{sfn|Lahiri|2015|p=109}} Impressed by the sermon, Ashoka offered Nigrodha 400,000 silver coins and 8 daily portions of rice.{{sfn|Lahiri|2015|p=110}} The king became a Buddhist [[upasaka]], and started visiting the [[Kukkutarama]] shrine at Pataliputra. At the temple, he met the Buddhist monk [[Moggaliputta Tissa]], and became more devoted to the Buddhist faith.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|p=47}} The veracity of this story is not certain.{{sfn|Lahiri|2015|p=110}} This legend about Ashoka's search for a worthy teacher may be aimed at explaining why Ashoka did not adopt [[Jainism]], another major contemporary faith that advocates non-violence and compassion. The legend suggests that Ashoka was not attracted to Buddhism because he was looking for such a faith; instead, he was in search of a competent spiritual teacher.{{sfn|Lahiri|2015|p=108}} The Sri Lankan tradition adds that during his sixth regnal year, Ashoka's son Mahinda became a Buddhist monk, and his daughter became a Buddhist nun.{{sfn|Guruge|1995|p=49}}

A story in ''Divyavadana'' attributes Ashoka's conversion to the Buddhist monk Samudra, who was an ex-merchant from Shravasti. According to this account, Samudra was imprisoned in Ashoka's "Hell", but saved himself using his miraculous powers. When Ashoka heard about this, he visited the monk, and was further impressed by a series of miracles performed by the monk. He then became a Buddhist.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=35}} A story in the ''Ashokavadana'' states that Samudra was a merchant's son, and was a 12-year-old boy when he met Ashoka; this account seems to be influenced by the Nigrodha story.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=36}}

The A-yu-wang-chuan states that a 7-year-old Buddhist converted Ashoka. Another story claims that the young boy ate 500 [[Brahmins|Brahmanas]] who were harassing Ashoka for being interested in Buddhism; these Brahmanas later miraculously turned into Buddhist [[bhikku]]s at the Kukkutarama monastery, which Ashoka visited.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=35}}

Several Buddhist establishments existed in various parts of India by the time of Ashoka's ascension. It is not clear which branch of the Buddhist sangha influenced him, but the one at his capital [[Pataliputra]] is a good candidate.{{sfn|Lahiri|2015|p=135}} Another good candidate is the one at [[Mahabodhi Temple|Mahabodhi]]: the Major Rock Edict 8 records his visit to the [[Bodhi Tree]] – the place of Buddha's enlightenment at Mahabodhi – after his tenth regnal year, and the minor rock edict issued during his 13th regnal year suggests that he had become a Buddhist around the same time.{{sfn|Thapar|1995|p=18}}{{sfn|Lahiri|2015|p=135}}