Marya asked Sathyajith Panachikal:

Why did you choose to narrate the story from the perspective of Jivaka?

Sathyajith Panachikal Hello Marya,
Thanks for the question.

As I have mentioned in the forward to the novel, it was my chance encounter with Jivaka, almost midway through the narrative, that prompted me to dig deeper to find out if this particular character had any significant locus standi on the vast canvas of the picture I was going to depict. To my surprise, he had a fascinating story and a voice of of his own and a stellar role to play, which more often were drowned out and dwarfed by the voices and acts of other dominant players of the theatre.

Jivaka, the narrator of the novel ‘Stela of the Sinner’ was not only the most revered physician of the period but was an active member of the Magadhan administrative machinery as well. His royal lineage coupled with his impeccable medical background made him an indispensable person not just in Magadha but also in hostile territories.

In Sangha and Jaina chronicles, Jivaka has been shown to have conducted a successful cranial surgery, an astonishing feat even by today’s standards. Although opening the skull and conducting an invasive neurosurgery was nothing new to the ancient world, it was for the first time that a specific individual was historically attested to have performed the complex procedure. While we might wonder how he performed brain surgery without anaesthesia, one should be equally inquisitive ,if not suspicious, about the records that say Caesarean section predated Julius Caesar and that the ancient Egyptians performed complex dental implants and even brain surgery. More recently, it has come to light that Mayans and Incas of Mesoamerica had a near 90% success rate - a claim that needs to be taken with a pinch of salt- with trepanations( skull surgery), centuries before the advent of modern medicine.

Add to this the fact that it was also a time when India’s indigenous system of medicine ,Ayurveda ,was at its prime , with the introduction of manuals and pharmacopoeias made by stalwarts like Sushruta and Athreya revolutionising the medical science like never before.

Amidst court intrigues and gory betrayals, Jivaka’s voice remained unusually sane, his integrity unwavering and his mind stoical.He was a healer through and through.He cured the royals and commoners of their afflictions, both physical and mental. With the good of the empire at heart,he often risked his life to intervene in circumstances where the situation demanded it. The thrones changed hands , but the royal physician always lived another day to tell the tale, not because of his cunning or power but because he made himself unassailable through intellect ,knowledge and skill.

Jivaka was as a doctor , an administrator, a strategist and most importantly, a thinker, all rolled into one.He served Magadha during the reigns of three of its great monarchs.And he provided succour to great men and women in their hours of need, all the while forgetting to live a life of his own.

What better narrator to chronicle the history of Magadha than a sagely figure who considered himself a loyal servant to the King Bimbisara and a doctor who was destined to treat none other than the Buddha?

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