8-year-old Devanshi Sanghvi, the elder daughter of Surat-based diamond merchant Dhanesh Sanghvi has embraced monkhood. It is notable that Dhanesh Sanghvi is the owner of Sanghvi and Sons, one of the world’s oldest diamond companies. Devanshi Sanghvi has given up all the comfort of her luxurious life and renounced everything to take a spiritual path and lead the rest of her life as a Jain monk.
Pictures of Devanshi Sanghvi from her initiation rituals have gone viral on the internet. In one of the pictures that has been widely shared online, Devanshi, dressed in a pink dress, pays tributes to her parents by showering rice grain on them—a symbol of gratitude for giving birth to her and raising her up in accordance with principles held sacred by Jainism and to finally allow her to embrace monkhood and follow the path prescribed by Jain Tirthankaras.
Devanshi Sanghvi is the elder among the two daughters of Dhanesh Sanghvi. After attending 367 initiation rituals, Devanshi was motivated to give up worldly life. According to a family acquaintance, Devanshi has never viewed television or a movie before. She has never eaten at a restaurant.
In yet another picture that has gone viral, Devanshi Sanghvi, after completing her initiation rituals, could be seen in a white dress, an archetype attire of Jain monks and with a smile writ large on her face.
To mark the event before Devanshi’s significant transition into monkhood, a grand march with elephants, horses, and camels was brought out in Surat. The ritual is called ‘Varshi Dan’—a ceremonial parade symbolizing the rejection of material possessions that mumukshus or the ones who would soon initiate into monkhood undertake, which also entails donating clothes, grains, silver coins, and other belongings that signify one’s renunciation from the materialistic world.
The Sanghvi family, who are diamond merchants, could live a very opulent lifestyle but prefers to lead a very modest one. The family is quite devout, and Devanshi has always prayed three times daily according to family tradition. After embracing monkhood, Devanshi Sanghvi is known as Sadhvi Diganthpragnashreeji.
At a time when many people in society are seen committing crimes to accumulate wealth, the 8-year-old kid has set an example by renouncing all the luxuries that were readily available to her being the daughter of a rich diamond merchant.