Eight-year-old heiress turns down $61m inheritance to become a nun

Eight-year-old Devanshi Sanghvi has decided to turn down her $61m inheritance to enter a pious lifestyle.

In a report from the outlet Agence France-Presse, which was shared by the South China Morning Post, Sanghvi is an heiress to Sanghvi and Sons, her family's jewelry business in Surat, India.

However, Sanghvi has given up the hefty inheritance to become a nun of the Jain faith.

In posts shared to the Instagram account @devanshi_diksha_danam, Sangvhi can be seen being initiated into monkhood in a lavish five-day ceremony.

Countless images show the child donning beautifully coloured and graceful clothing and jewelry, posing and performing rituals with her family over the week.

Sangvhi's family also follows the Jain faith.

Sign upto our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

On Wednesday (18 January), the Instagram account showed Sangvhi after she transitioned into her new life, donning a white cotton garment that covered her head as fellow nuns and Jain followers surrounded her joyously.

According to National Geographics, Jainism is one of the three ancient religions that originated in the mid-first century B.C.E.

The religion, which has a little over 5 million followers, highlights the importance of reaching enlightenment through nonviolence and minimizing harm to living things as much as possible.

Followers of the faith also reject the world's indulgent pleasures. Similar to Hindus and Buddhists, Jains also believe in reincarnation, or the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, which is dependent on an individual's karma.

AFP further noted that Sanghvi is one of the youngest people to be a part of Jain monkhood and relinquish worldly possessions.

Some family members are also reported to have encouraged their children to become monks or nuns to elevate their social status.

In another report from the BBC's Priyanka Pathak in 2019, she said when the nuns are initiated into the faith, they stop calling their family members family, walk barefoot, and pluck out their own hair, to name a few.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.