Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c11.s27.6

c11.s27.6

This Council was held according to tradition at the end of 236 years after the Buddha's death (*Dīpavaṃsa*) and in the seventeenth year of the reign of Aśoka (*Mahāvaṃsa*). But there is no mention of the Council in the Seventh Pillar Edict ; this has led some scholars to discredit the entire story of the third Council. This, however, is not easy in the face of the edict against schism (*saṅghabheda*) which strikingly corroborates the account of the Council ; and judging by the position of its Kauśāmbī version on the Allahabad pillar, it was issued some time after the Seventh Pillar Edict and fell towards the end of the reign ; the Council must have been held about the same time.