Jīvaka
Jīvaka was the personal physician of the Buddha and the Indian King Bimbisāra. He lived in Rājagṛha, present-day Rajgir, in the 5th century BCE. Sometimes described as the "Medicine King" and "Thrice Crowned physician" he figures prominently in legendary accounts in Asia as a model healer, and is honoured as such by traditional healers in several Asian countries.
Accounts about Jīvaka can be found in Early Buddhist Texts in many textual traditions such as the Pāli and Mūlasarvāstivāda traditions, as well as later Buddhist discourses and devotional Avadāna texts. Textual traditions agree that Jīvaka was born as a foundling of a courtesan, but not who his parents were exactly. Regardless, Jīvaka was found and raised by people from the royal court of King Bimbisāra. As he grew up, Jīvaka decided to travel to Takṣaśilā, to learn traditional medicine from a well-respected teacher. He turned out to be a promising student, and after seven years, started his healing profession in Rājagṛha. His medical feats gained him a reputation and he was quickly appointed as the personal physician of King Bimbisāra and the Buddha. As Jīvaka came more into contact with the Buddha, he became an important supporter of the religion and eventually founded the Jīvakarāma monastery. Later, Bimbisāra was killed by his son Ajatashatru, who usurped the throne. Eventually, Jīvaka was instrumental in bringing him to see the Buddha, to whom the new king repented the deeds he had done.
In the texts, Jīvaka is depicted performing complicated medical procedures, including those that could be interpreted as brain surgery. Scholars are in debate to which extent these depictions have historical value. Regardless, Jīvaka is honoured throughout Asian history by Buddhists, and to some extent by healers outside of Buddhism, as a model physician and Buddhist saint. Several medieval medical texts and procedures in India and China are attributed to him. Up until the present day, Jīvaka is honoured by Indians and Thai as a patron of traditional medicine, and he has a central role in all ceremonies involving Thai traditional medicine. Furthermore, Jīvaka's legendary persona has had an important role in helping to proselytise and legitimise Buddhism. Some of the details of Jīvaka's accounts were adjusted to fit the local milieus in which they were passed on. The Jīvakarāma monastery was identified by the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang in the 7th century, and it was excavated in the 19th century. Presently, it is one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries with archaeological remains still in existence.
Accounts
Jīvaka is described in Buddhist texts as a contemporary of the Buddha, who most scholars date to the 5th century BCE. There are significant differences in how Jīvaka's early life is rendered according to the different textual traditions. In what appears to be the earliest version of the narrative, Jīvaka is described as a foundling discarded by a courtesan with no royal blood, and was later found and raised in the court by Prince Abhaya. In later versions, the story has been embellished to appeal to a wider audience, as Jīvaka's mother is identified with the courtesan of divine origin and Buddhist disciple Āmrapālī, and the previously unnamed father becomes none other than King Bimbisāra. Furthermore, some versions of the story attempt to show that Jīvaka is the real "Medicine King", a title used for other legendary healers such as the Chinese healers Bian Que and Hua Tuo. Many motifs in these accounts point in this direction: for example, the Jīvaka Sūtras state that Jīvaka was born with acupuncture needles and herbs in his hand, which is used as proof that Jīvaka is superior to other Chinese healers. In the Sanskrit and Tibetan version, Jīvaka is recognised and named the "Medicine King" by the court on three occasion, each time after a medical miracle. He is therefore also described as the "Thrice-crowned Physician".The foundling
Texts from the earliest, Pāli tradition, as well as the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya and the T. 553 sūtra, describe that Jīvaka was born in Rājagṛha as a child of a gaṇikā, who had him discarded on a trash heap by a slave. He was later seen by a prince called Abhaya, son of King Bimbisāra, who asked whether the child was still alive. When the people responded that it was, he decided to raise him and named him "he who is alive", for having survived the ordeal. The Pāli, Tibetan and Sanskrit traditions explain that his second name became Komārabhacca, because he is raised by a prince, but scholars have suggested the name is more likely related to the Kaumārabhṛtya: ancient Indian obstetrics and pediatrics, one of the eight branches of the Āyurveda. As he grew up, Jīvaka learnt about his humble origins, and determined to find himself good education to compensate for his background. Without Prince Abhaya's awareness, he went to learn medicine at an ancient place of learning called Takṣaśilā, presently identified with a city near Islamabad, Pakistan.The prince
Sanskrit texts and early Tibetan translations in the Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition state that Jīvaka was born as an illegitimate child of King Bimbisāra and a merchant's wife, who in the Chinese Jīvaka Sūtras is identified with the courtesan Āmrapālī. In the Sanskrit and Tibetan recension, however, the wife of the merchant remains unnamed, whereas Āmrapālī is considered to be the mother of Prince Abhaya instead of Jīvaka. The Sanskrit and Tibetan texts, as well the T. 554 sūtra, explain that the king had an illicit affair with the wife and later she informed him that she was pregnant. The king told the mother that if the child should turn out male, she should bring it to him to be raised in court. When it was born, she had the child placed in front of the palace in a chest. The king had the chest brought in and asked whether the child was still alive. When his servants responded that it was, he called it "he who is alive". The king had the child raised in the court by a person called Zho-nu Jigmed in the Tibetan version of the story, and in the court the child's interest in medicine was sparked when he saw some vaidyas visit. He therefore decided to train as a physician in Takṣaśilā. In the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya and the Chinese Jīvaka Sūtras, Jīvaka considered his medical teachers in the court inferior and demonstrated his superior medical knowledge, after which he decided to further his studies in Takṣaśilā. During that time, Takṣaśilā was under Achaemenid rule, following the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley circa 515 BCE.The heart-exposing disciple
Texts in the Chinese tradition relate that Jīvaka was a crown prince in a kingdom in Central India. When the king died, his younger brother prepared an army to battle Jīvaka. But Jīvaka said to his brother that he had not much interest in the throne, because his mind was focused on the Buddha instead. He exposed his chest, showing a Buddha image engraved on his heart. The younger brother was impressed and called off his army. Because of this story, Jīvaka is called the 'Heart-exposing Arhat'.In all versions of the story, Jīvaka gave up his claim to the throne to study in Takṣaśilā. He was probably sixteen when he went there.
Life in Takṣaśilā
He was trained for seven years in Takṣaśilā by a ṛṣi called Ātreya Punarvasu, which Tibetan texts say used to be the physician of Bimbisāra's father.Jīvaka learned the classical Āyurvedic medical treatises of the time, such as the Caraka Saṃhitā and the Suśruta Saṃhitā, although some later treatments of Jīvaka also point at other medieval traditions of knowledge. Ātreya helped Jīvaka build up his observation skills. Jīvaka became known for his powers of observation, as depicted in many stories. In one account, Jīvaka looked at the footprint of an elephant and was able to describe the rider of the elephant in great detail, just basing himself on the elephants' footprint. Tibetan texts do state that Jīvaka suffered from jealous fellow-students, however, who accused Ātreya of favouring him, because he was from the court. In the Pāli and Chinese version of the story, Ātreya then sent Jīvaka and his fellow pupils to look for any plant in the forest that did not have medicinal qualities. Jīvaka returned disappointed, however, telling Ātreya that he could not find a single plant of which he did not recognise its medicinal qualities. When Ātreya was satisfied with this progress, he gave Jīvaka a bit of money and sent him off, but not before acknowledging him as his next successor.
In the Sanskrit and Tibetan recensions, however, the test of the forest is done before accepting Jīvaka in Takṣaśila, as opposed to the exam at the end of his studies. After Jīvaka passed the test, was admitted and learnt at the centre for several years, he started to demonstrate his medical superiority and was recognised as such by Ātreya. He finished his studies with Ātreya and continued his studies at the city of Bhadraṅkara in Vidarbha, where he studied the textbook called the Sarvabhūtaruta, which may refer to a book about magical chants and dharanis. After that, he traveled further and came in possession of a miraculous object that helped him to see through the human body and discover any ailments. In this account, which could also be found in the Jīvaka Sūtras, Jīvaka came across a man carrying wooden sticks. In some accounts, the man seemed to suffer terribly because of the effect of the wooden sticks, being emaciated and sweating; in other accounts, the wooden sticks which the man carried allowed any by-passers to see through his back. Regardless, Jīvaka bought the sticks and found that, according to most of the Chinese texts, one of the sticks originated from a miraculous "Medicine King Tree" : the tree of Bhaiṣajrayājan, who later Mahāyāna texts would describe as a bodhisattva, a Buddha-to-be, focused on healing. The Tibetan and Sanskrit version, however, relates that there was a gem hidden between the sticks which was the source of the miracles. Regardless, the miraculous object enables him to see through a patient's body and diagnose his illness, as the object "illuminates his inside as a lamp lights up a house". These accounts may have led to a myth about an ancient "ultrasound probe", as imagined in medieval Buddhist kingdoms of Asia.