Eight-year-old Devanshi Sanghvi could have grown up and studied to run a multi-million dollar diamond business owned by her family. But now the daughter of a wealthy Indian diamond dealer lives a spartan life, clad in rough white saris, barefoot and begging from door to door. Because Devanshi, the eldest of Dhanesh and Ami Sanghvi’s two daughters, renounced the world last week and became a nun. The story was told by the BBC, which explains that the Sanghvis are among the 4.5 million Jains who follow Jainism, one of the world’s oldest religions, which originated in India more than 2,500 years ago.
Religious scholars say that the number of Jains renouncing the material world has increased rapidly over the years, although cases involving young children like Devanshi are rare.
Tens of thousands of people attended the ceremony in the city of Surat in the western state of Gujarat on Wednesday, where Devanshi took diksha – vows of renunciation – in the presence of elderly Jain monks.
The girl came to the ceremony bejeweled and dressed in fine silks. A crown set with diamonds rested on his head. After the ceremony, she stood with other nuns in a white sari that also covered her shaved head. In the photos she can be seen with a broom, which she now has to use to sweep insects out of the way to avoid accidentally stepping on them.
Since then, Devanshi has lived in an upashraya, a monastery where Jain monks and nuns live. The Sanghvis belong to the only Jain sect that accepts child monks, while the other three only accept adults.
Although there is support for the practice within the Jain community, Devanshi’s renunciation has prompted debate, with many questioning why the family could not wait until he reached adulthood before making such important decisions on his behalf met.
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