According to Buddhist tradition, the Kushan emperor Kanishka convened the Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir.
This council is generally associated with the Sarvastivada school and is traditionally placed at Kundalvana, near present-day Srinagar. Accounts say that the gathering addressed disagreements among Buddhist teachers and organized extensive commentarial work on doctrine. Vasumitra is commonly named as its presiding figure, with Ashvaghosha also associated with the proceedings.
Traditions describe the council as involving 500 monks and connect it with the compilation or development of major Sarvastivada scholastic texts, including the Mahāvibhāṣā. These accounts helped strengthen Kashmir and the northwest as important centres of Buddhist learning during the Kushan period.
The wording “according to tradition” matters: Buddhist communities did not all recognize the same Fourth Council. Theravada tradition identifies a different council in Sri Lanka, while the Kashmiri council belongs chiefly to northern Buddhist and Sarvastivada accounts. Even so, Kanishka is the standard answer to this question.