KirkEvd85074933 at 22:55, 15 October 2025

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{{Short description|Early Buddhist school}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
[[File:Bojjana Konda statue 02.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of the Buddha at [[Bojjannakonda]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]]]
{{EarlyBuddhism}}
[[File:Sankaram caves.JPG|thumb|Statue of the Buddha at [[Bojjannakonda]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]]]
[[File:Sanchi2.jpg|thumb|The Great [[Stupa]] at [[Sanchi Stupa|Sanchi]] associated with the Caitikas.]]

The '''Caitika''' ({{zh|制多山部 or 制多部}}) was an [[Early Buddhist schools|early Buddhist school]], a sub-sect of the [[Mahāsāṃghika]]. They were also known as the '''Caityaka''' sect.

The Caitikas proliferated throughout the mountains of [[South India]], from which they derived their name.{{sfn|Sree Padma|2008|p=35}} In [[Pali]] writings, members of this sect and its offshoots were generally referred to as the ''Andhakas'', meaning "of [[Coastal Andhra]]".

== History ==
The Caitikas branched off from the main Mahāsāṃghika school in the 1st or 2nd century BCE.{{sfn|Baruah|2000|p=48}} Epigraphic evidence of the Mahāsāṃghikas in the [[Mathura]] region dates to the first century BCE, and the ''{{IAST|Śāriputraparipṛcchā Sūtra}}'' dates the formation of the Caitikas to 300 years after the Buddha.{{sfn|Sree Padma|2008|p=43}} However, the ancient Buddhist sites in the lower [[Krishna Valley|Kṛṣṇa Valley]], including [[Amaravati Stupa|Amarāvati Stupa]], [[Nagarjunakonda|Nāgārjunakoṇḍā]] and [[Jaggayyapeta|Jaggayyapeṭa]] "can be traced to at least the third century BCE, if not earlier."{{sfn|Sree Padma|2008|p=2}}

The Caitikas gave rise to the Aparaśailas and Uttaraśailas (also called Pūrvaśailas). Together, they comprised an important part of the Mahāsāṃghika located in South India.{{sfn|Sree Padma|2008|p=43}} Two other sub-sects associated with the Caitikas include the Rājagirikas and the Siddhārthikas, both of which emerged from the Andhra region around 300 CE.<ref>Warder, A. K. ''Indian Buddhism''. 2000. p. 279.</ref>

The Caitikas are said to have had in their possession the Great [[Stupa]] at [[Sanchi]].{{sfn|Sree Padma|2008|p=197}} The Great Stūpa was first commissioned by [[Ashoka|Asoka]] in the 3rd century BCE and became known as a [[Buddhist pilgrimage]] site. In the [[Ajanta Caves|Ajaṇṭā Caves]], the only epigraphic reference to an early Buddhist sect is to that of the Caitikas, which is associated with an iconic image in Cave 10.{{sfn|Malandra|1993|p=133}} The Mahāsāṃghikas were generally associated with the early veneration of anthropomorphic Buddha images.{{sfn|Malandra|1993|p=133}}

When [[Xuanzang]] visited [[Dharanikota|Dhānyakaṭaka]], he wrote that the monks of this region were Mahāsāṃghikas, and mentions the Pūrvaśailas specifically.{{sfn|Baruah|2000|p=437}} Near Dhānyakaṭaka, he met two Mahāsāṃghika [[bhikkhu|bhikṣu]]s and studied Mahāsāṃghika [[Abhidharma]] with them for several months, during which time they also studied various Mahāyāna [[shastra|śāstra]]s together under Xuanzang's direction.{{sfn|Baruah|2000|p=437}}<ref>Walser, Joseph. ''Nāgārjuna in Context: Mahāyāna Buddhism and Early Indian Culture.'' 2005. p. 213.</ref>

== Doctrine ==
[[File:AmaravatiFrieze.jpg|thumb|Drum-slab from the [[Amaravati Stupa]]]]
The southern Mahāsāṃghika schools such as the Caitikas advocated the ideal of the [[bodhisattva]], the [[bodhisattvayāna]], over that of the [[arhat]] or [[śrāvakayāna]], and they viewed arhats as being fallible and still subject to ignorance.{{sfn|Sree Padma|2008|p=44}} The main Caitika school, along with the Aparaśailas and Uttaraśailas, all emphasised the transcendent and supramundane character of the Buddha.

Xuanzang considered the Mahāsāṃghika doctrine of a ''mūlavijñāna'' ("root consciousness") to be essentially the same as the [[Yogācāra|Yogāćāra]] doctrine of the [[Eight Consciousnesses|ālāyavijñāna]] "storehouse consciousness". He also noted that the doctrine of the ''mūlavijñāna'' was contained in the [[Āgama (Buddhism)|Āgama]] of the Mahāsāṃghikas.<ref>Cook, Francis (tr). ''Three Texts on Consciousness Only.'' 1999. p. 88.</ref>

==Relationship to Mahāyāna==

===Associations===
[[A. K. Warder]] holds that the Mahāyāna "almost certainly" first developed from the southern Mahāsāṃghika schools of the Āndhra region, among monastic communities associated with the Caitikas and their sub-sects.<ref>Warder, A. K. ''Indian Buddhism''. 2000. p. 313.</ref>

Anthony Barber and Sree Padma note that "historians of Buddhist thought have been aware for quite some time that such pivotally important Mahayana Buddhist thinkers as [[Nagarjuna|Nāgārjuna]], [[Dignāga]], [[Candrakīrti|Ćandrakīrti]], [[Āryadeva]], and [[Bhāviveka]], among many others, formulated their theories while living in Buddhist communities in Āndhra."{{sfn|Sree Padma|2008|p=1}}

===Royal patronage===
Some early Mahāyāna sūtras reference wealthy female donors and provide evidence that they were developed in the Āndhra region, where the Caitika were predominant. The Mahāyāna ''Mahāmegha Sūtra'', for example, gives a prophecy about a royal princess of the [[Satavahana dynasty|Śatavāhana dynasty]] who will live in Āndhra, along the Kṛṣṇa River, in Dhānyakaṭaka, seven hundred years after the [[parinirvana|parinirvāṇa]] of the Buddha.<ref name="osto_114"/>

Several scholars such as [[Étienne Lamotte]], and Alex and Hideko Wayman, associate the [[Andhra Ikshvaku|Āndhra Ikṣvāku dynasty]] with patronage of Mahāyāna sūtras.<ref name="osto_114">Osto, Douglas. ''Power, Wealth and Women in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra'' 2011. pp. 114–115.</ref> Epigraphic evidence at Nāgārjunikoṇḍa also provides abundant evidence of royal and wealthy female donors.<ref name="osto_114"/>

===Prajñāpāramitā===
A number of scholars have proposed that the Mahāyāna [[Prajnaparamita|Prajñāpāramitā]] teachings were first developed by the Caitika subsect of the Mahāsāṃghikas. They believe that the ''{{IAST|Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra}}'' originated amongst the southern Mahāsāṃghika schools of the Āndhra region, along the [[Krishna River|Kṛṣṇa River]].{{sfn|Xing|2005|p=66}} Guang Xing states, "Several scholars have suggested that the Prajñāpāramitā probably developed among the Mahāsāṃghikas in Southern India, in the Āndhra country, on the Kṛṣṇa River."{{sfn|Xing|2005|pp=65-6}} These Mahāsāṃghikas had two famous monasteries near the Amarāvati and the Dhānyakaṭaka, which gave their names to the schools of the Pūrvaśailas and the Aparaśailas.{{sfn|Xing|2005|p=66}} Each of these schools had a copy of the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' in [[Prakrit]].{{sfn|Xing|2005|p=66}} Guang Xing also assesses the view of the Buddha given in the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' as being that of the Mahāsāṃghikas.{{sfn|Xing|2005|p=66}} [[Edward Conze]] estimates that this Sūtra originated around 100 BCE.{{sfn|Xing|2005|p=66}}

===Tathāgatagarbha===
Brian Edward Brown, a specialist in Tathāgatagarbha doctrines, writes that it has been determined that the composition of the ''[[Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra]]'' occurred during the Āndhra Ikṣvāku dynasty in the 3rd century CE as a product of the Mahāsāṃghikas of the Āndhra region (i.e. the Caitika schools).<ref>Brown, Brian Edward. ''The Buddha Nature: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna.'' 2010. p. 3.</ref> [[Alex Wayman]] has outlined eleven points of complete agreement between the Mahāsāṃghikas and the ''Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra'', along with four major arguments for this association.{{sfn|Sree Padma|2008|pp=153-154}} After its composition, this text became the primary scriptural advocate in India for the universal potentiality of [[Buddhahood]].<ref>Brown, Brian Edward. ''The Buddha Nature: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna.'' 2010. p. 3.</ref> Anthony Barber also associates the earlier development of the ''[[Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra]]'' with the Mahāsāṃghikas, and concludes that the Mahāsāṃghikas of the Āndhra region were responsible for the inception of the Tathāgatagarbha doctrine.{{sfn|Sree Padma|2008|pp=155-156}}

===Bodhisattva canons===
In the 6th century CE, Bhāviveka speaks of the Siddhārthikas using a Vidyādhāra Piṭaka, and the Aparaśailas and Uttaraśailas (Pūrvaśailas) both using a Bodhisattva Piṭaka, implying collections of Mahāyāna texts within these Caitika schools.<ref>Walser, Joseph. ''Nāgārjuna in Context: Mahāyāna Buddhism and Early Indian Culture.'' 2005. p. 53.</ref> During the same period, Avalokitavrata speaks of the Mahāsāṃghikas using a Great Āgama Piṭaka, which is then associated with Mahāyāna sūtras such as the ''Prajñāparamitā'' and the ''[[Ten Stages Sutra|Ten Stages Sūtra]]''.<ref>Walser, Joseph. ''Nāgārjuna in Context: Mahāyāna Buddhism and Early Indian Culture.'' 2005. p. 53.</ref> Avalokitavrata also states that Mahāyāna sūtras such as the ''Prajñāparamitā'' were recited by the Aparaśailas and the Pūrvaśailas.<ref>Walser, Joseph. ''Nāgārjuna in Context: Mahāyāna Buddhism and Early Indian Culture.'' 2005. p. 53.</ref>

According to the Theravādin text ''[[Nikāyasaṅgraha]]'', the large Mahāyāna collection called the ''[[Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra]]'' ([[Taishō Tripiṭaka]] No. 310) was composed by the "Andhakas", meaning the Caitika schools of the Āndhra region.<ref>Adikaram, E. W. ''Early History of Buddhism in Ceylon.'' 1953. p. 100.</ref><ref>Paul, Diana. ''The Buddhist Feminine Ideal.'' 1980. p. 12.</ref> This collection includes the ''Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra'', the ''[[Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra]]'', the ''Akṣobhyavyūha Sūtra'', a long text called the ''Bodhisattva Piṭaka'', and others.<ref>Sangharakshita. ''The Eternal Legacy: An Introduction to the Canonical Literature of Buddhism.'' 2006. p. 168.</ref> The ''Mahāratnakūṭa'' collection totals 49 Mahāyāna sūtras, divided into 120 fascicles in the Chinese translation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/files/k0022.html|title=The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalog (T 310)}}</ref>

== Disputes with Theravāda ==
In the [[Mahavihara|Mahāvihāra]] tradition of the [[Theravada|Theravāda]] school, [[Buddhaghosa|Buddhaghoṣa]] grouped the Caitika schools in the Āndhra region, such as the Rājagirikas and the Siddhārthikas, as the "Andhakas".{{sfn|Sree Padma|2008|p=35}} Works such as the ''[[Kathāvatthu]]'' show that Mahāvihāra polemics were directed overwhelmingly at these "Andhakas" in India.<ref>{{citation |last=Sujato |first=Bhante |title=Sects and Sectarianism: The Origins of Buddhist Schools |page=52 |year=2012 |publisher=Santipada |isbn=9781921842085 |authorlink=Bhante Sujato}}.</ref>

===Textual authenticity===
The Caitika schools rejected the post-Asokan texts that were in use by the [[Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya]] tradition such as the ''[[Parivāra]]'', the six books of [[Abhidharma]], the ''[[Paṭisambhidāmagga]]'', the ''[[Niddesa]]'', some [[Jataka tales|Jātakas]], some [[Gatha (India)|Gāthās]], and so on.<ref>{{citation |last=Sujato |first=Bhante |title=Sects and Sectarianism: The Origins of Buddhist Schools |page=51 |year=2012 |publisher=Santipada |isbn=9781921842085 |authorlink=Bhante Sujato}}.</ref> For example, the Caitikas claimed that their own Jātakas represented the original collection before the Buddhist tradition split into various lineages.<ref>Warder, A. K. ''Indian Buddhism''. 2000. pp. 286–287.</ref>

===Interpretation of Buddhist texts===
One dispute recorded in the ''Kathāvatthu'' between the Mahāvihāravasins and the Andhakas was a fundamental matter concerning the interpretation of the Buddha's teachings. The Andhakas are said to have held that the Buddha's actions and speech were supramundane, but some may only perceive the conventional or mundane interpretation. For the Mahāsāṃghika branch of Buddhism, the ultimate meaning of the Buddha's teachings was "beyond words", and words were merely a conventional exposition of the Dharma. The Theravāda Mahāvihāravasins, in contrast, argued that literal interpretations of the Buddha's teachings were best.<ref>Buescher, John. ''Echoes from an Empty Sky: The Origins of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Two Truths.'' 2005. p. 46.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Index of Buddhism-related articles]]
*[[Nikaya Buddhism|Nikāya Buddhism]]
*[[Schools of Buddhism]]
* [[Secular Buddhism]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|last=Baruah|first=Bibhuti|title=Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_s1PZAMD13SMC|date=1 January 2000|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-7625-152-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Malandra|first=Geri Hockfield|title=Unfolding A Mandala: The Buddhist Cave Temples at Ellora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MU44LPu3mbUC&pg=PR1|year=1993|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-1355-5}}
* {{cite book|author=Sree Padma|title=Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8H5VwQUbIMIC&pg=PA1|date=7 August 2008|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-7814-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Xing|first=Guang|title=The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikāya Theory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DTWZLMGFFgkC|year=2005|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-33344-3}}

{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Mahāsāṃghika]]
[[Category:Nikaya schools]]
[[Category:History of Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Early Buddhist schools]]

Caitika - Revision history

KirkEvd85074933 at 22:55, 15 October 2025