Kashmir ［迦湿弥羅国・諝賓国］ ( Kashmīra or Kāshmīra;  Kashumira-koku or Keihin-koku): An ancient country in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. According to tradition, King Ashoka sent the Buddhist monk Madhyāntika to this region to introduce Buddhism in the third century b.c.e. Later King Kanishka built monasteries there and sponsored the Fourth Buddhist Council at which the Buddhist scriptures were compiled. Kashmir also produced a number of noteworthy Buddhist monks who traveled to China, where they engaged in the translation of the Buddhist scriptures.