The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine: Its Origins and its Greek Parallels c6.38

c6.38

described here as a renowned doctor of Takṣaśilā (Taxila), in the North-west of India. Jīvaka goes to him to study medicine and it does not take him long to surpass his master.¹ It is true that this renowned doctor is not named in Pali sources but in all these sources as also in others it is said that he resided at Takṣaśilā. Jīvaka and this Ātreya are given to be the contemporaries of the Buddha; they could, therefore, have belonged to the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth century B.C. Evidently it is perfectly possible that a doctor, descendant of Atri, could have won renown at Taxila during this period. But it does not follow that this person could be really the same who is referred to in the Caraka-saṃhitā. Hoernle has not hesitated in identifying the two persons², but he has not noticed that his identification raised serious difficulties. Firstly, the surname Ātreya is ascribed in the Caraka-saṃhitā not only to Punarvasu but also to a bhikṣu Ātreya³, (Sūtr., I, 9; XXV, 24).⁴ Secondly, the personal name of the Ātreya who was the master of Jīvaka is given in the Chinese transcription in the Sūtra on the Avadāna of Āmrapālī and has nothing in common with Punarvasu; It is Pin-kia-lo, i.e., Piṅgala.⁵ In the last place, the Caraka-saṃhitā does not give either Takṣaśilā as the residence of Ātreya Punarvasu or any other place in the North-west. It shows him teaching at Kāmpilya on the Ganges, situated in the kingdom of the Pañcālas (Vim., III, 3).¹