Odisha hazy past focuses with the war of Kalinga in which the people of Kalinga come into a head-on collision with Ashoka, the powerful Mauryan emperor from Magadha. A hundred thousand were killed, another hundred and fifty thousand are taken captives while an equal number die as an aftermath of the war. The bloody carnage leave Ashoka with such a better taste in his mouth that he turns his back on violence forever and embrace the Budhism faith of peace and compassion. Budhism spreads under his patronage and becomes the state religion.