Devanshi, the 9-year-old daughter of wealthy diamond merchants - Dhanesh and Ami Sanghvi, embraced monkhood in Gujrat on Wednesday, renouncing material comforts. She is the eldest of the two daughters, took ‘diksha’ in presence of Jain monk Acharya Vijay Kirtiyashsuri and hundreds of other people at a venue in Vesu locality of Surat, a family associate said.
According to The Indian Express, Dhanesh is the owner of Sanghvi and Sons, a nearly three-decade-old diamond polishing and export firm in Surat. Meanwhile, Devanshi’s ‘diksha’ - or vow of renunciation - marks her initiation into ascetic life. The ceremony had begun last Saturday.
Embracing monkhood and leaving behind all the material comforts and luxury of life, is indeed a tough decision for every person. Considering the same, Devanshi will reportedly shun all the material comforts and luxury, that her family of diamond merchants could have provided her.
The eldest daughter of Dhanesh and Ami was inclined towards spiritual life from a very young age. She even walked around 700 km with other monks and embraced their life before formally being initiated into monkhood, family friend Nirav Shah said.
He also shared that Devanshi knows five languages and possesses other skills.
“Today, she was given ‘diksha’ at a function. The Sanghvis have two daughters — Devanshi is the elder one and she has a four-year-old sister,” he said, adding “Devanshi showed religious inclination since she was a toddler. She has followed the ascetic life since a very young age.”
A religious procession was taken out with fanfare in the city on Tuesday, a day before Devanshi took ‘diksha’. A similar procession was also taken out in Belgium, he added.
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