Aspirant Academy
ENHI

RAS question

The Third Buddhist Council was held at Pataliputra under the patronage of:

Correct answer: (B) Ashoka.

The Third Buddhist Council was held at Pataliputra under the patronage of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka.

  1. (A)

    Chandragupta Maurya

  2. (B)

    Ashoka

  3. (C)

    Kanishka

  4. (D)

    Bindusara

Explanation

The Third Buddhist Council belongs to the Mauryan phase of Buddhist history and is linked specifically with Ashoka. eGyanKosh, History of Bharat: Unit 6, Jain, Buddhist, and Other Sects states that, during Ashoka's reign, the council was held at Pataliputra and was chaired by Moggaliputta Tissa. Its importance was doctrinal: Buddha's teachings were reorganised, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka was formally compiled and added. That completed the threefold structure of Buddhist scripture as Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidhamma. The council is placed in 250 BCE, and Buddhist missionaries were sent to various countries, including Sri Lanka. So the patronage asked in the question is Ashoka, not another Mauryan ruler or a later Buddhist patron.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Chandragupta Maurya is not linked with the Third Buddhist Council; the question's own note associates him with Jainism in later life, while the council is placed under Ashoka.
  • (C) Kanishka is the patron connected with the Fourth Buddhist Council at Kundalvana near Srinagar in Kashmir, not the Third Council at Pataliputra.
  • (D) Bindusara is not identified with the Pataliputra Buddhist council; the question's note associates him with the Ajivika sect, whereas the council is tied to Ashoka.

Concept

This tests the Ancient Indian History theme of Buddhist councils, especially matching each council with its ruler, venue and doctrinal outcome. It recurs in RAS because such council-patron-location combinations are compact, factual and easy to frame as one-line prelims questions.

Source

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