<Tr> <Td> 10,000 </Td> <Td> 50,000 (figures by Ashoka) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Kalinga War (ended c. 262 BCE) was fought in what is now India between the Maurya Empire under Ashoka and the state of Kalinga, an independent feudal kingdom located on the east coast, in the present - day state of Odisha and north of Andhra Pradesh . The Kalinga War included one of the largest and bloodiest battles in Indian history . Despite an unexpectedly fierce resistance from the Kalingans, the Maurya Empire claimed victory and annexed the state of Kalinga . Kalinga did not have a king as it was culturally run without any . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> The reasons for invading Kalinga were both political and economic . Kalinga was a prosperous region consisting of peaceful and artistically skilled people . Known as the Utkala, they were the first from the region who traveled offshore to the southeast for trade . For that reason, Kalinga had important ports and a powerful navy . They had an open culture and used a uniform civil code . </P>

5. site of the great kalinga war the daya river is in which state