1 Answers
The Third Buddhist council was convened in about 250 BCE at Asokarama in Pataliputra, under the patronage of Emperor Ashoka.
The traditional reason for convening the Third Buddhist Council is reported to have been to rid the Sangha of corruption in the form of enemies who in the guise of supporters had infiltrated the Sangha, as well as monks who held heretical views that is Mahasangika Sect of Buddhism. The council recommended the ruler Ashoka to expel sixty thousand Mahasangika spies as well as reevaluate the Pāli Canon.
It was presided over by the elder monk Moggaliputta-Tissa and one thousand monks participated in the Council. The council is recognized and known to both the Theravada and Mahayana schools, though its importance is central only to the Theravada.