Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c15.s1.t7.3

c15.s1.t7.3

Just as Aśoka tried to secure concord among the various sects, so he wanted to prevent schism within the Buddhist church. Tradition affirms that a Buddhist Council was convened at Pāṭaliputra in the seventeenth year of his reign for the purpose of suppressing heresy and making a compilation of the true Buddhist doctrine (*Saddhammasaṁgaha*). The Sārnāth Edict and its variants may perhaps be regarded as embodying the resolution of this Council.¹