What was the central issue of the "Cold War"?

Historians have identified several causes that led to the outbreak of the cold war including: tensions between the two nations at the end of World War II, ideological Conflict between both the United States and the Soviet union, the emergence of nuclear weapons, and the fear of communism in the United States.

The most prominent leader of the Muaryan Empire, who was also the most influential, was Ashoka. At the beginning of his reign he was in the process of expanding the empire. As a result, the Muaryan's faced off with the Kalingaians. Ashoka, after having seen the death and destruction this battle brought, converted into a Buddhist. This influenced  the social structure of the Mauryan by making all of the people equal. The Buddhist belief of bettering yourself and treating all others equally and fairly, broke the caste system that would later dominate in the Gupta Empire. People of almost all regions of the empire knew the Buddhist values though the several pillars Ashoka erected with the Buddhist values written on them. He built several Buddhist temples. People from all over the empire had the knowledge of Buddhist teachings.

Explanation:

  The social structure of the Gupta Empire was highly influenced by religion. Hinduism divided the people of the Gupta Empire into five classes.              

The highest was composed of the priest and teachers, underneath that were the rulers and warriors, then the merchants and artisans, and ending with the unskilled workers.