Ashoka built several chaityas, stupas and pillars at Dhauli, Odisha because
1. He converted the largest number of subjects to Buddhism at Dhauli.
2. He wanted to overcome the remorse of the Kalinga bloodshed.
3. A second Ashokan capital was established here.
4. It was home to the largest number of Buddhist viharas in India.
Explanation:
Dhauli hill is presumed to be the area where the Kalinga War was fought.
The rock-cut elephant above the Edicts is the earliest Buddhist sculpture of Odisha.
Ashoka had a special weakness for Dhauli, where the battle was fought.
The Daya River here is said to have turned red with the blood of the many deceased after the battle, and enabled Ashoka to realize the magnitude of horror associated with war.
Thereafter Ashoka repented of the violence which he had done, and converted to Buddhism.
He expressed his remorse, and his intention to govern the kingdom according to the principles of his new faith, in a series of rock-cut edicts that he caused to be inscribed on over 100 monuments throughout his vast kingdom.