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Devanshi, the eldest of the two daughters of Dhanesh and Ami Sanghvi, took ‘diksha’ 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’ — or vow of renunciation — marks her initiation into the ascetic life. The ceremony began last Saturday.
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Devanshi was inclined towards spiritual life since a very young age and had even walked about 700 km 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, 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.