Gujarat: 8-year-old daughter of diamond merchant embraces monkhood
What's the story
Leaving behind all the material possessions and comforts of life is no mean feat! It is a rare sight in contemporary India, and when a pre-teen does so, it becomes more than unusual.
In one such event, a eight-year-old daughter of a wealthy diamond merchant renounced the luxuries of life and embraced monkhood on January 18.
Read on to know more about it.
Identity
Who is this 8-year-old girl?
Devanshi is the eldest of the two daughters of Dhanesh and Ami Sanghvi. The eight-year-old has a younger sister who is four.
Devanshi's father, Dhanesh, is a wealthy diamond trader in Gujarat. He owns Sanghvi and Sons, a nearly three-decade-old diamond polishing and export firm in Surat.
Her family's business is worth Rs. 500 crores ($61m) according to ICRA.
Vow of renunciation
She will shun all material comforts and luxury
Devanshi took diksha in the presence of Jain monk Acharya Vijay Kirtiyashsuri and hundreds of other people.
Diksha refers to a religious ceremony in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, where one is given a mantra or an initiation by their guru.
She has formally renounced her family's multi-crore business, and will now live an ascetic life shunning all the material comforts and luxury.
Pomp and show
Religious procession taken out with pomp and show
The ceremony was held at a venue in the Vesu locality of Surat.
The renunciation procession was taken out with much fanfare in the city.
The ceremony, which began on January 15, reached its final leg on January 18.
On January 17, a day before the child embraced monkhood, a grand procession was organized in the city with camels, elephants, and horses.
Walk of renunciation
Devanshi walked 700 km before formally becoming a monk
A day before taking diksha Devanshi walked 700 km with other monks and embraced their lifestyle before formally becoming a child nun.
According to a family friend Nirav Shah, Devanshi had shown a religious inclination and led an ascetic life since a very young age.
A similar procession was taken out in Belgium as well, according to Mr. Shah.
Simple life
Devanshi has lived a simple life since a young age
As per media reports, Devanshi has been living a simple life like her parents since childhood.
She prays three times a day like other family members.
She has also been a part of 367 diksha events so far and has neither watched TV or movies to entertain herself nor gone to parties, weddings, or restaurants.
The little girl is fluent in five languages.