INDIAN HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Buddhist sect Mahayana formally came into existence during the reign of Kanishka. He was the emperor of the Kushan dynasty in the second century.

Detailed explanation-2: -As a patron of Buddhism, Kaniska is chiefly noted for having convened the fourth great Buddhist council in Kashmir, which marked the beginnings of Mahayana Buddhism. At the council, according to Chinese sources, authorized commentaries on the Buddhist canon were prepared and engraved on copper plates.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Fourth Buddhist Council was held at Kundalvana, Kashmir in 72 AD under the patronage of Kushan king Kanishka. The president of this council was Vasumitra, with Asvaghosa as his deputy. This council distinctly divided the Buddhism into 2 sects Mahayana & Hinayana.

Detailed explanation-4: -The correct answer is Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna was the founder of Mahayana or the Greater Wheel. According to the followers of Mahayana, only Buddha and bodhisattvas could help in attaining salvation.

Detailed explanation-5: -Mahayana, (Sanskrit: “Greater Vehicle”) movement that arose within Indian Buddhism around the beginning of the Common Era and became by the 9th century the dominant influence on the Buddhist cultures of Central and East Asia, which it remains today.