Justice Painting by Raphel ( Raffaello Santi )

By all considerations, Ashoka is one of the greatest kings not only in the history f India but that of the whole world. In the beginning, like all other Kings, Ashoka was also given to kingly pleasures and military conquests but after the battle of kalinga (which is now Orrisa), a powerful kingdom on the Bay of Bengal, Ashoka was completely transformed. In this battle, lakhs of people were slain, wounded, which produced a profound reaction on the mind of Ashoka. The era of military conquests was now over and an era a spiritual conquers as Dharma Vijay began;. Ashoka was converted to Buddhism and devoted the rest of his life to spread and put into practice the teaching of Buddhism. For the welfare of his subjects, Ashoka planted trees along the roads for providing shade, built rest-houses for travelers and established hospitals for human beings and animals.