Ashoka Was Already A Buddhist Before The War Of Kalinga

A growing consensus among historians and scholars is that the War of Kalinga occurred after Ashoka had already converted to Buddhism. This view has been popularised by historians such as Sanjeev Sanyal and Charles Allen. Allen, who interestingly seems to absolutely adore Ashoka, gives this chronology:

A screenshot from the book Ashoka: The Search for India’s Lost Emperor by Charles Allen

So Ashoka did wage war after his supposed conversion to Buddhism. Even after the Kalinga War and his supposed remorse, Ashoka did not become a pacifist and maintained his large army to keep his empire intact. On the Major Rock Edict XIII, which currently is in Kandahar IIRC, he shows remorse on the suffering of the people of Kalinga but he also warns the forest-tribes of the region where the Edict was placed that if they do not repent they shall suffer the same fate as the people of Kalinga. I wouldn’t call that non-violence.

This isn’t historical revisionism. The Ashokavadana, the earliest known textual source on Ashoka, does not say that the War of Kalinga triggered Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism; apparently it was a personal decision. IMO, Ashoka became a Buddhist to get on the good side of the rapidly growing Buddhist Sangha which was fast becoming a politically and socially relevant organisation, much like the Catholic Church in Medieval Europe.

Then there’s the matter of the allegedly state-sponsored Jain and Ajivika massacres under Ashoka’s reign, which are also mentioned in the Ashokavadana. Again we see Ashoka resort to violence, although not outright war.