Jivika

Jivaka--skull surgeon and "x-ray physician" in ancient India

Jīvaka (Pali: Jīvaka Komārabhacca; Sanskrit: Jīvaka Kumārabh ṛta) was the
personal physician (Sanskrit: vaidya) of the Buddha and the Indian King
Bimbisāra. He lived in Rājagṛha, present-day Rajgir, in the 6th–5th century BCE.
Sometimes described as the "Medicine King" (pinyin: yi wang), he figures
prominently in legendary accounts in Asia as a model healer, and is honoured as
such by traditional healers in several Asian countrie s.

He is trained for seven years in Tak ṣaśilā by a ṛṣi (seer) called Ātreya Punarvasu,
which Tibetan texts say used to be the physician of Bimbisāra's father.During that
time, Takṣaśilā was under Achaemenid rule, following the Achaemenid conquest
of the Indus Valley circa 515 BCE.

Jīvaka learns the classical Āyurvedic medical treatises of the time, such as the
Caraka Saṃhitā (attributed to Ātreya) and the Suśruta Sa ṃhitā, although some
later treatments of Jīvaka also point at other medieval traditions of knowledge.
Ātreya helps Jīvaka build up his observation skills.

Pāli texts often describe Jīvaka giving treatments to the Buddha for several
ailments, such as when the Buddha has a cold,and when he is hurt after an
attempt on his life by the rebellious mo nk Devadatta.The latter happened at a
park called Maddakucchi, where Devadatta hurls a rock at the Buddha from a
cliff. Although the rock is stopped by another rock midway, a splinter hits the
Buddha's foot and causes him to bleed, but Jīvaka heals the Bud dha.