Conversion to Buddhism

It is said that his wife Devi accompanied him at Kalinga. She was so bothered by what she saw that she left his side. She ran away and never returned.Devi was Buddhist and perhaps this in combination with Ashokas memory of learning about Buddhist principles led him to change his ways.From this point on, he embraces Buddhism. He took on the Buddhists Radhaswami and Manjushri as his teachers. He decided that he would base the rest of his rule on Buddhist principles.