Correct Option: A

The Kalinga war was fought between the Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great and the state of Kalinga, a feudal republic located on the coast of the present-day Indian state of Odisha and nothern parts of Andhra Pradesh. On the basis of Ashokan inscriptions, it can be established that it was fought in 262- 261 BC. The Kalinga war, the only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to throne, is one of the major and bloodiest battles in the history of India.