Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c12.s10.6

c12.s10.6

The account of the third council which was held at Pāṭaliputra is still more confused. It was not a general council but a party meeting of the Elders—the Theravādins. The Ceylonese tradition says that it was held 18 years after the coronation of Aśoka but there is no confirmation of this fact in the edicts of the emperor. As it was a meeting of the Theravādins, the Mahāsānghikas were excluded from it. The Ceylonese account of the council runs as follows :