An important group of monks that seceded from the Theravāda. They included as minor sects Pubbaseliyas, Aparaseliyas, Rājagirikas and Siddhatthikas (Points of Controversy, p.104, extract from Kathāvatthu Cy.). They were still powerful in Buddhaghosa’s time (Ibid., xxxiv). The Andhakas are not mentioned as a special sect either in the Mahāvaṃsa or in the Dīpavaṃsa, though in the Mahāvaṃsa the sects spoken of above as offshoots of the Andhakas (Rājagiriyā, Siddhatthikā, Pubba- and Apara-seliyā) are given. (Mhv.v.12 f; also the Mbv.97) For a very valuable account of the different schools and their relation to each other, see Points of Controversy, pp.xxxv-xlv. About the Andhakas see particularly pp.xliii.ff.

There were various doctrines held by all the Andhakas either in common with other sects or alone, and various other doctrines held only by some of the minor groups of Andhakas. For a summary of these see Points of Controversy, pp.xx-xxiv.