, Phaetthayasaat songkhroh, Vols. I and II, p . ^ .
3 ibid.
4 sitthi kaariya anSmSas Pali siddhi kariya.
24 BOOK I KPC I , 1; 4 5 - 4 9 . KPC b e g i n s w i t h a v e r s e , w r i t t e n i n t h e P a l i l a n g u a g e and t r a n s l a t e d i n t o T h a i , ^ d e c l a r i n g t h a t t h e a u t h o r h a s p a i d due homage 2
t o t h e Buddha and t o h i s c o n t e m p o r a r y , J i v a k a K o m a r a b h a c c a , who i s a c k n o w l e d g e d t o b e t h e o r i g i n a l c o m p i l e r o f t h i s t e x t . J i v a k a ' s d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e r e c r e a t i o n o f t h e w o r l d a f t e r i t s d e s t r u c t i o n a t t h e en d o f t h e l a s t e r a , and t h e d i v i n e o r i g i n o f man t h e n l e a d s t o an e x p l a n a t i o n o f human r e p r o d u c t i o n .
Much o f Book I , P a r t 1 i s t a k e n f rom o t h e r t e x t s , b u t w h e r e e a c h q u o t a t i o n b e g i n s and e n d s i s n o t c l e a r . Thos e named a r e Khamphee
3 A
phrom p a r o h i t, Khamphee chakrawaantheepanee , Khamphee m ahaachotarat, Khamph.ee rok n ith a a n, and Khamphee c h a tu r a a r iy a s a t
1 See C h a p t e r 2, p . 17. 2 J i v a k a K o m a r a bh a cc a i s t h e l e g e n d a r y , v e n e r a t e d p h y s i c i a n t o t h e Bu d dh a , and t o Ki n g B i m b i s ä r a o f Magadha. J i v a k a i s r e v e r e d by p r a c t i t i o n e r s o f T h a i t r a d i t i o n a l m e d i c i n e a s t h e s o u r c e o f mo st o f t h e i r m e d i c a l _ k n o w l e d g e - t h e o r i g i n a l m a s t e r , o r t e a c h e r , o f m e d i c i n e . ' J i v a k a ' c o u l d mean ' v i t a l i z e r ' : ' K o m a r a b h a c c a ' , ' s e r v a n t o f y ou ng p e o p l e ' . A c c o r d i n g t o t h i s t e x t , I , 2; 4 9 , ' J i v a k a K o m a ra b ha c ca means ' d o c t o r who was a d o p t e d by a k i n g ' s s o n ' . H i s name i s g e n e r a l l y t a k e n t o i m p l y t h a t h e was a s p e c i a l i s t i n p a e d i a t r i c s .
The o p e n i n g v e r s e o f KPC i s a f o rm o f Wai khruu TvnFvr, w h i c h i s t h e T h a i c u s t o m an d d u t y t o pa y r e s p e c t t o t e a c h e r s ,
a nd t o a c k n o w l e d g e t h e d e b t owed t o them. The b i o g r a p h y o f J i v a k a , and t h e c er emo ny o f wai khruu, t o b e p e r f o r m e d a t an a u s p i c i o u s t i m e on a T h u r s d a y , d u r i n g t h e w a x i n g o f t h e moon, i n t h e s i x t h month ( a b o u t May) o f e a c h y e a r , a r e g i v e n i n Anuson khrop rop reep 2506 rong r ia n p h a et phaen boraan Wat Phrachettuphon (Volume c omme mor ati ng t h e Cs i xt hD a n n i v e r s a r y ,
1963, o f t h e Wat Pho T r a d i t i o n a l M e d i c a l C o l l e g e ) ( Bangkok: 2 5 0 6 ) , p a g e s u n n u m b er e d .
3 Riiflrws-mnJ'T'rftR 4 mjflfRntQnvffi'UCl
KPC I, 2; 49-71.
Tells of the divine origin of the medical knowledge acquired by Jivaka's teacher, R.okaamarit, whose medical texts had been passed 2 down from doctor to doctor since the time of the Buddha Kakusandha.
3
The remainder comes from Khamph.ee khanpharaksaa, and gives information on conception, pregnancy, and birth, together with descriptions of
some common illnesses of new-born infants, such as vomiting, diarrhoea, and flatulence.
KPC I, 3; 71-76.
This is also from Khamphee khanpharaksaa, and covers the period immediately after a child is born, while the mother is 'lying by the
4
fire', and details some of the dangers encountered at this time by both mother and infant. Next comes advice on burying the placenta, and this section concludes with a list of auspicious signs and symbols for each year of the twelve year cycle.
1 1 tFmjqft'um
2 Buddhism views the Buddha Gotama as one of many Buddhas to have