Dhauligiri – Reminiscent of Kalinga War of 261 B.C.

By Srikanta Mohanty: “I can still see the blood-stained water of River Daya and hear the shrieking of our heroes. The mighty war that we fought centuries before and the courage that the sons of our soil had shown, still adorn the pages of history. The war would go down the generations as the one that not only transformed Emperor Ashoka but served the mankind with unique instance of spirit”- says Dayanidi Nayak of Khurda town.

The Kalinga war that once took place between the Mauran Empire of emperor Ashoka and the state of Kalinga (Odisha) still hold generations mesmerized with the tale of bravery, spirit, and courage.  Tough and determined, the people of Kalinga put a stiff resistance only to get outnumbered by the savage Armies of Ashoka. The war is said to be the bloodiest in the contemporary history. As the emperor saw the bloodletting and savagery in the war, he repented. The war was instrumental in bringing one of the greatest transformations in a person, who became ‘Dharmashoka’ from ‘Chandashoka’.  With his transformation, there dawned a new chapter in the history of Buddhism. Eminent historian, H.G.Wells, writes about the change in the nature of the emperor and the marvelous role that he played as a ruler and preacher of Buddhism-‘amidst tens of thousands of names of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history, their majesties and graciousness and serenities and royal highness and like, the name of Ashoka shines, and shines, almost alone a star’.

The mighty war had brought the deaths of around 1, 00,000 people and 1, 50,000 deportations. Two things stand as mute witnesses to the horror and devastation of Kalinga war- the River Daya and Dhauligiri as both are located in proximity to each other.  Dhauli was the battle site, where the fierce conflict took place. There stand the rock edicts from Ashoka that give description of the emperor’s social and moral precepts rather than religious practices or philosophical dimension of Buddhism.