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[[File: Sarnath_pillar.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left| The Ashoka Pillar from Sarnath]]

Sometime after the bloody war with Kalinga was over, Ashoka made his historic conversion to Buddhism. Essentially, there are two interpretations concerning how it took place, although they are not necessarily exclusive nor in opposition to each other. Ashoka never directly stated how or why he converted in any inscriptions, but a number of his so-called rock and pillar edicts and inscriptions seem to indicate that the conversion was somewhat gradual. The inscriptions, which were usually written in the Prakrit language using some different scripts, exhort the readers to follow Buddhist practices by abstaining from meat consumption, being charitable, and by generally following Buddhist theology. In what is known today as “Minor Rock Edict #1,” Ashoka seems to indicate that he only became a pious Buddhist after a period of familiarity with the religion: