8-year-old daughter of Indian diamond merchant gives up luxury to become nun

An eight-year-old diamond heiress from the Indian state of Gujarat has become a Jain nun, abandoning all material pleasures that the world has to offer.

Devanshi Sanghvi is the heiress of Sanghvi and Sons, one of the world's oldest diamond companies. It is currently owned by her father, Dhanesh Sanghvi. Their business has a net worth of 5 billion rupees ($61 million), according to an Indian credit rating agency.

She took the lifelong vow of Diksha, or monkhood during an elaborate ceremony organised in Surat on Wednesday. She walked over 600 kilometres with Jain monks before she was finally accepted into the strict religious order.

A grand procession with elephants, horses, and camels took place in the city to celebrate the occasion.

Devanshi would have inherited a multi-crore diamond business upon reaching adulthood, but she chose a life of simplicity. According to a report in The Times of India, she used to pray three times a day and live a really simple life even before she took the vow of renunciation.

"Devanshi never watched TV, or movies and never went to restaurants or attended marriages. She has participated in 367 diksha events so far," said a family friend of the Sanghvis.

In the initiation ceremony held at a temple in the city, Devanshi traded her colourful clothes for a simple white saree. All of her hair was removed as part of the ceremony. Images of the girl smiling while donning a simple white dress have gone viral on the internet.

Jainism originated in India at least 25,000 years ago and is followed by 0.4% of India's population. According to the Pew Research Center, Jains are more highly educated and wealthier than the rest of India's population. It is the smallest of the country's major religions.

They believe in the philosophy of Ahimsa, or non-violence. Therefore, almost all Jains are vegetarians. Some of them do not even eat onions and garlic since they are root vegetables. The Jains believe that eating a root vegetable completely kills a plant, which is seen as an act of violence.