Question

King Ashoka became Buddhist after he was horrified with the tyranny of Kalinga War. It was in:
1. 258 B.C.
2. 260 B.C.
3. 200 B.C.
4. 327 B.C.

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : 260 B.C.

The correct is 260 BC.

•  Ashoka coronated in 268 BC and did the Kalinga war in 260 BC.
• The Kalinga was an independent feudal kingdom in present-day Odisha.
• The Kalinga war was fought on Dhauli hills on the banks of the Dhauli River.​

• The whole area of Kalinga was plundered and destroyed.
• Ashoka’s 13th Rock Edict describes the Kalinga war vividly.
• In about 263 BC Ashoka converted to Buddhism. Moggaliputta Tissa, a Buddhist monk, became his mentor.
• Under Ashoka reign, the Third Council of Buddhism organized in Pataliputra under the presidency of Moggaliputta Tissa.