At which place was the second Buddhist council held, a hundred years after the Buddha's death?
- A.Rajgriha
- B.Vaishali
- C.Bodh Gaya
- D.Nalanda
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Vaishali. The second council met at Vaishali about a century after the Buddha's death, under king Kalashoka of the Shishunaga dynasty, with Sabakami presiding. A dispute over the strictness of monastic discipline divided the sangha into the Sthaviravadins, who held to the old rule, and the Mahasanghikas, who accepted a relaxation, and that split is the lasting result of the meeting.
Option A, Rajgriha, held the first council under Ajatashatru. Option C, Bodh Gaya, is the place of the enlightenment and held no council. Option D, Nalanda, became a centre of learning many centuries later, under the Guptas, and is not a council site either. Vaishali is also remembered as the place where the first nuns were ordained and where the Buddha gave his last sermon.
Read the full article: Buddhism and Jainism in Bihar: Sites and Councils
Practice Questions
View allThe Buddha attained enlightenment at which place in present day Bihar?
- A.Rajgir
- B.Bodh Gaya
- C.Vaishali
- D.Pataliputra
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Gautama attained enlightenment at Uruvela, the Bodh Gaya of today, under a peepal tree on the bank of the Niranjana river, which is called the Phalgu now.
Read the full explanation →The term Tripitakas in Buddhism means three
- A.baskets
- B.houses
- C.roads
- D.trees
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Tripitaka is a Pali and Sanskrit word in which pitaka means a basket, so the whole means three baskets, a name that came from the practice of keeping the palm leaf manuscripts of each collection in a separate basket.
Read the full explanation →The first Buddhist council was held at which place?
- A.Vaishali
- B.Pataliputra
- C.Rajgriha
- D.Kundalvana
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The first Buddhist council met at Rajgriha, the Rajgir of today, in the Saptaparni cave soon after the Buddha's death, under the patronage of king Ajatashatru and the presidency of Mahakassapa.
Read the full explanation →Mahavira, the twenty fourth Jain tirthankara, attained nirvana at
- A.Pavapuri
- B.Kundagrama
- C.Sammed Shikhar
- D.Rajgriha
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Mahavira attained nirvana at Pavapuri in the present Nalanda district of Bihar at the age of seventy two, traditionally in 527 BCE, and the Jal Mandir, a marble temple standing in the middle of a tank, marks the place of his cremation.
Read the full explanation →The third Buddhist council was held at Pataliputra under the patronage of
- A.Ajatashatru
- B.Kalashoka
- C.Ashoka
- D.Kanishka
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The third council met at Pataliputra in the reign of Ashoka, with Moggaliputta Tissa presiding.
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