The Second Buddhist Council, held at Vaishali in about 383 BCE, was held under the patronage of:

The Second Buddhist Council was held at Vaishali in about 383 BCE, about 100 years after the Buddha's death, under the patronage of King Kalashoka (Kakavarnin) of the Shishunaga dynasty.

About the Second Council:

• It was presided over by the monk Sabakami (Sabbakami).
• It was called because some monks of Vaishali (the "Vajjiputtakas") had begun to relax the rules of monastic discipline.
• They followed ten practices that were against the Vinaya rules, such as accepting gold and silver as gifts, storing salt, eating after midday, and drinking unfermented palm wine.
• The council, attended by about 700 monks, declared these ten practices to be against the rules.

Result: the first split in the Sangha:

The disagreement led to a split in the Buddhist order into two groups:

• "Sthaviravadins" (Theravadins, "followers of the elders"), who wanted to keep the original strict rules.
• "Mahasanghikas" ("members of the great community"), who wanted more flexible rules; they were more numerous.
• This split was the beginning of the different schools of Buddhism; the Mahasanghika ideas later contributed to the rise of Mahayana.

About Kalashoka:

• He was a ruler of the Shishunaga dynasty of Magadha, son of Shishunaga.
• He is also called "Kakavarnin" ("crow-coloured") in the Puranas.
• He shifted the capital of Magadha back to Pataliputra, according to some sources.
• He is said to have been killed in a palace conspiracy, which led to the rise of the Nanda dynasty.

About Vaishali:

• It was the capital of the Lichchhavis and the Vajji confederacy.
• It was the place where the Buddha gave his last sermon, according to tradition, and where the first order of nuns was formed.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Ajatashatru was the patron of an earlier council.
• ✗Ashoka was the patron of a later council.
• ✗Kanishka was the patron of the last of the four great councils.