Princess Sundarī Nandā of Shakya, also known simply as Sundarī, was the daughter of King Suddhodana and Queen Mahapajapati Gotami. She was the half-sister of

Siddhartha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

, who later became a

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

. She became a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

after the enlightenment of her half-brother and became an

arhat In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...

. She was the foremost among bhikkhunis in the practice of

jhana In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind (''bhavana''), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions and "burn up" ...

(total meditative absorption). She lived during the 6th century BCE in what is now

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Early years

When she was born, Princess Nandā was lovingly welcomed by her parents: Her father was King

Śuddhodana Śuddhodana (; Pali: ''Suddhodana''), meaning "he who grows pure rice," was the father of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya, who lived in an Oligarchy, oligarchic republic, with their capital at Kapil ...

, also the father of Siddhartha; her mother was Mahaprajapati. Mahaprajapati was the second wife of Suddhodana and the younger sister of his first wife, the late

Queen Maya Maya (; Devanagari: , IAST: ), also known as Mahāmāyā and Māyādevī, was Queen of Shakya and the mother of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha. She was the wife of Śuddhodana, the king of the Shakya kingdom. She died days after ...

. Nanda's name means joy, contentment, pleasure, and was named as her parents were especially joyous about the arrival of a newborn baby. Nanda was known in her childhood for being extremely well-bred, graceful and beautiful. To disambiguate her from Sakyans by the same name, she was also known as "Rupa-Nanda," "one of delightful form," sometimes "Sundari-Nanda," "beautiful Nanda." Since Her beauty sparkled day by day she was later named as "Janapada Kalyani". Over time, many members of her family, the family of the Sakyans of Kapilavastu, left the worldly life for the ascetic life, inspired by the enlightenment of their Crown Prince Siddhartha. Amongst them was her brother

Nanda Nanda, including Nanda (南大), may refer to: Education * Nanchang University (南昌大学), a public university in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China * Nanhua University (南华大学), a public university in Hengyang, Hunan, China * Nanjing Universi ...

, and her cousins

Anuruddha Anuruddha (; ) was one of the ten principal disciples and a cousin of Gautama Buddha. Early years Anuruddha was the son of Amitodana and brother to Mahanama and princess Rohini (Buddha's disciple). Since Amitodana was the brother of Suddh ...

and Ananda, who were two of the Buddha's five leading disciples. According to therigatha she was to get married with her own brother

but before their wedding he had to enter into monastic life. Her mother, was the first Buddhist nun, having asked the Buddha to allow women into the

sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

. As a result of this, many other royal Sakyan ladies, including Princess Yasodharā, the wife of Siddhartha became Buddhist monastics. Thereupon, Nanda also renounced the world, but it was recorded that she did not do it out of confidence in the Buddha and the

dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

, but out of blood love for her relatives and a feeling of belonging.

Renunciation

It soon became obvious that Nanda was not fully focused on her life as a nun. Nanda's thoughts were mainly directed centred on her own beauty and her popularity with the people, characteristics which were the

karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

of meritorious actions in past lives. These karmic traits became impediments to Nanda, since she neglected to reinforce them with new actions. She felt guilty that she was not fulfilling the lofty expectations that others had of her, and that she was far from the objective for which so many of the Sakyan royal family had renounced their worldly life. She was certain that the Buddha would censure her, so she evaded him for a long time.

Enlightenment

One day, the Buddha requested all the bhikkhunis to come to him individually, to receive his teaching, but Nanda did not obey. The Buddha let her be called explicitly, and then she presented herself, in an ashamed and anxious demeanour. The Buddha addressed her and appealed to all of her positive qualities so that Nanda willingly listened to him and delighted in his words. He knew that the conversation had raised her spirits and had made her joyful and ready to accept his teaching. Since Nanda was so preoccupied with her physical beauty, the Buddha used his psychic powers to conjure the vision of a woman more beautiful than Nanda, who then aged quickly and visibly in front of her own eyes. As a result, Nanda could see, in a short time span, what could otherwise only be noticed in humans in a time span of decades: the recession of youth and beauty, the decay, the appearance of aging, such as wrinkles and gray hair. This vision affected Nanda deeply; she was shaken to the core. After having shown Nanda this confronting image, the Buddha could explain the law of impermanence to her in such a manner that she grasped its truth completely, and thereby attained the supreme bliss of

nibbana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

. Later the Buddha recognised his half-sister as being the foremost amongst bhikkunis who practiced Jhana.As she wished it before Padumuttara Buddha. This meant that she not only followed the analytical way of insight, but emphasised the experience of tranquillity. Enjoying this pure well-being, she no longer needed any sensual enjoyments and soon found inner peace, despite having become a member of the sangha out of attachment to her relatives.

References

Bibliography

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External links