Daughter of Gujarat diamond merchant, aged 9, embraces monkhood

A nine-year-old daughter of a wealthy diamond merchant embraced monkhood in the western Indian state of Gujarat on Wednesday (18), renouncing material comforts.

Devanshi, the eldest of the two daughters of Dhanesh and Ami Sanghvi, took 'diksha' (vow of renunciation) in the presence of Jain monk Acharya Vijay Kirtiyashsuri and hundreds of other people at a venue in Vesu locality of Surat, a family associate said.

Her father is the owner of Sanghvi and Sons, a nearly three-decade old diamond polishing and export firm in Surat.

The minor girl's 'diksha' marks her initiation into the ascetic life. The ceremony began last Saturday (14). She will now shun all the material comforts and luxury, which her family of diamond merchants could have provided her.

Devanshi was inclined towards spiritual life since a very young age and had even walked about 700 kilometres with other monks and embraced their life before formally being initiated into monkhood, family friend Nirav Shah said.

She knows five languages and also has other skills, he said.

"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.

"Devanshi showed religious inclination since she was a toddler. She has followed the ascetic life since a very young age," he said.

On Tuesday (17), a day before Devanshi took 'diksha,' a religious procession was taken out with fanfare in the city, Shah said. A similar procession was also taken out in Belgium, he added.

Several diamond traders from the Jain community have close business links with Belgium.

(PTI)