The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c28.107

c28.107

Kanishka, we are told, studied the Buddhist scriptures in his leisure hours under the guidance of a monk, who attended daily at the palace to give him instruction. The king, becoming hopelessly puzzled by the conflicting doctrines of the various sects or schools, suggested to his adviser, the Venerable Pārsva, that it would be well to obtain an authoritative exposition of the truth. Pārsva gave his cordial approval to the suggestion, and arrangements were made accordingly for a general assembly of theologians. As a matter of fact, however, all the learned men assembled seem to have belonged to a single school, the Sarvāstivādins of the Hīnayāna, or Little Vehicle, whose practice, if we may judge from the contemporary sculptures, must have differed little from that of the Mahāyānists. The first question demanding settlement was that of the place of meeting. The king proposed his capital in Gandhāra, but objection was taken to the hot damp climate. Somebody then suggested Rājagriha, in Magadha, where the first council was reputed to have met. Ultimately it was decided to convoke the assembly in the pleasant climate of Kashmīr, at a monastery named Kundalavana, near the capital of that country. Vasumitra was elected president, and Aśvaghosha, the famous author, who, according to the story, had been carried off from Pātaliputra, was appointed vice-president. The members, 500 in number, devoted themselves to a thorough examination of theological literature from the most remote antiquity, and elaborated huge commentaries on the three main divisions of the Canon. The works so prepared included the *Mahāvibhāshā*, which still exists in Chinese, and is described as being an encyclopaedia of Buddhist philosophy. Dr. Takakusu, a highly competent authority, is of opinion that until this work shall have been made accessible to scholars it will be vain to argue about the Council of Kashmīr or its works. When the labours of the assembly were completed, the commentaries were copied on sheets of copper, which were deposited in a *stūpa* built for this purpose by order of king Kanishka. It is possible that these precious records may still exist buried under some mound near Srīnagar, and that a lucky chance may reveal them. After the conclusion of the business of the council, Kanishka renewed Asoka's donation of the kingdom of Kashmīr to the Church, and went home through the Bārāmūla Pass.¹