M11 Assignment: The Kingdom of Kalinga Pre-Mauryan

Nick Eizmendi
HIST 134
4/5/2015

What was the Kingdom of Kalinga? Most of those who would know, know it only
because it was conquered by the Mauryan Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century B.C., and that the
fighting was so terrible and bloody that it helped convert Asoka to Buddhismi. But few know
about the Kingdom of Kalinga pre-Mauryan conquest. This paper will attempt to uncover the
mysteries of the Kilingans.
The Kingdom of Kalinga was located somewhat centrally on the eastern side of the Indian
Subcontinent. Today, it corresponds to the Andhra Pradesh (Province) of India, as well as parts
of Madhya and Orissa. The Kingdom had many cities, two of which are still populated today:
Rajahmundry and Vizianagaram. Kalinga, being on the eastern coast, had many seaports, which
allowed it to trade with Burma (Myanmar)ii.
The Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic poem, offers some clues about the Kalingans, although
its historical accuracy is questionable. The kingdom was most likely founded by Indo-European
migrants, who came into the area around 1500 B.C. from Central Asia. It is said that in the 13th
century B.C., the kingdom took part in the Kurukshetra War, as part of an alliance to take the
throne of Hastinapuraiii. After which, not much is known until a thousand years later.
The Kingdom was conquered by the Nanda Empire under the reign of Mahapadma in the 4th
century B.C., to which it remained under its control until it was succeeded after the fall of the
Nanda Empire in the 3rd century. During this time, according to the Greek ambassador
Megasthenes, Kalinga built a formidable military, consisting of 60,000 soldiers, 1,700 horses,
and thousands of elephants.iv This made the Mauryans jealousv, leading to the Kalinga War,
which resulted in the conquering of Kalinga by Asokavi.

Works Cited
Encyclopdia Britannica. Kalinga | ancient region, India | Encyclopedia Britannica. 2015. Web
site. 5 April 2015.
A short encyclopedia article. Most trustworthy work by far.

Glorious India . Kalinga Kingdom - Indian History. 2006. Web site. 4 April 2015.
Appears to be a blog about the history of India. I used it because it reveals a
bit as to why Kalinga was conquered by the Mauryans.

Kingdoms of South Asia - Kalinga / Orissa. 2015. Web site. 5 April 2015.
A timeline of sorts, specifically about Kalinga/Orissa. This is where I got the
Mahabharata references, which was the only usable part if this source (everything
else was too late.)

Maps of India. Ancient Kalinga. 2014. Web site. 5 April 2015.

A map of the Kalinga Kingdom, with a bit of historical context. Not a great
source, unfortunately.

TimeMaps. World History Timeline The Mauryan empire of Ancient India in World History.
2015. Web site. 5 April 2015.
Our learning module source. Good source.

i (TimeMaps)
ii (Encyclopdia Britannica), the whole paragraph.
iii (Kingdoms of South Asia - Kalinga / Orissa)
iv (Glorious India )
v (Glorious India )
vi

(TimeMaps)