According to Buddhist tradition, Mahākassapa presided over the First Buddhist Council after the Buddha’s death.
The council is traditionally said to have met at Rājagṛha, usually identified with modern Rajgir in India, soon after the Buddha entered parinirvana. Its purpose was to preserve and recite the Buddha’s teachings and monastic discipline for the newly formed Buddhist community.
Mahākassapa, one of the Buddha’s senior disciples, is described as organizing and leading the gathering. Ānanda recited the discourses, while Upāli recited the monastic disciplinary rules. These recitations are traditionally associated with the foundations of the Sutta and Vinaya collections.
The council’s details come from later Buddhist traditions and differ across sources and schools. That uncertainty does not change the standard traditional identification of Mahākassapa as its presiding elder. His name is also written Mahākāśyapa in Sanskrit, so spelling can vary by language.