Till the ninth year of his rule, Ashoka followed the expansionist policies of the Mauryan Empire. In this sequence, he attacked Kalinga.Kalinga, which was an independent democratic state at that time. Ashok attacked it to win it. The ghost of victory was so much on Ashoka that he kept moving fast and cutting people. In this war, about 100,000 soldiers were killed and more than 150000 people were imprisoned. When Ashoka reached the battlefield after winning this war, he was heartbroken after seeing the dead bodies and the relatives mourning over them. From here the condition and direction of his life changed. The horrors of the Kalinga War brought about a sudden change in the heart of Asoka. Deep remorse overtook him almost immediately. The death, destruction, violence and bloodshed of the war left a permanent impression in his mind for long time to come.