The Jīvakarāma monastery was identified by the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang in the 7th century, and it was excavated in the 19th century. Some of the details of Jīvaka's accounts were adjusted to fit the local milieus in which they were passed on. Furthermore, Jīvaka's legendary persona has had an important role in helping to proselytise and legitimise Buddhism. 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. Several medieval medical texts and procedures in India and China are attributed to him. 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. Scholars are in debate to which extent these depictions have historical value.

In the texts, Jīvaka is depicted performing complicated medical procedures, including those that could be interpreted as brain surgery. Eventually, Jīvaka was instrumental in bringing him to see the Buddha, to whom the new king repented the deeds he had done. Later, Bimbisāra was killed by his son Ajatashatru, who usurped the throne. As Jīvaka came more into contact with the Buddha, he became an important supporter of the religion and eventually founded the Jīvakarāma monastery. His medical feats gained him a reputation and he was quickly appointed as the personal physician of King Bimbisāra and the Buddha. He turned out to be a promising student, and after seven years, started his healing profession in Rājagṛha. As he grew up, Jīvaka decided to travel to Takṣaśilā, to learn traditional medicine from a well-respected teacher. Regardless, Jīvaka was found and raised by people from the royal court of King Bimbisāra. Textual traditions agree that Jīvaka was born as a foundling of a courtesan, but not who his parents were exactly. 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 countries.Īccounts 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. He lived in Rājagṛha, present-day Rajgir, in the 5th century BCE. Jīvaka ( Pali: Jīvaka Komārabhacca Sanskrit: Jīvaka Kumārabhṛta) was the personal physician ( Sanskrit: vaidya) of the Buddha and the Indian King Bimbisāra.

Personal physician to the Buddha, King Bimbisāra, and King Ajatashatru Medicine King, Thrice-crowned Physician, Kumārabhūta

Indian traditional medicine, Thai massage Father: Unidentified ( Pāli tradition), Prince Abhaya ( Dharmaguptaka tradition) or King Bimbisāra ( other textual traditions) mother: Salāvatī (Pāli tradition) or Āmrapālī (other textual traditions)

Choosy clothes