Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī

Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī was the Buddha’s maternal aunt and foster mother, traditionally remembered as the first woman ordained in the Buddhist monastic community.

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Māyā: Māyā was the mother of Siddhartha Gautama, the future Buddha, and Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī’s sister. After Māyā’s death, her sister raised the young Siddhartha.
Bhikkhunī: A bhikkhunī is a fully ordained Buddhist nun in traditions using the Pali-derived monastic terminology. Mahāprajāpatī is traditionally identified as the first bhikkhunī.
Buddhist monasticism: Buddhist monasticism is the tradition of renunciant communities organized around discipline, practice, and religious teaching. Her ordination story concerns entry into the Buddha’s renunciant community.
Bhikkhunī ordination lineage: A bhikkhunī ordination lineage is a continuous tradition for conferring full ordination on Buddhist women. Traditions differ over whether her founding ordination lineage continued uninterrupted.
Siddhartha Gautama: Siddhartha Gautama was the spiritual teacher who became known as the Buddha. Her foster son later received her request to establish an order for women.
Ananda: Ānanda was the Buddha’s cousin and attendant, remembered for his role in preserving Buddhist teachings. He supported her petition by asking whether women could attain liberation.
Pravrajyā: Pravrajyā is the act of leaving household life to enter a renunciant path. Her request involved renouncing household life and joining the community.
Dharmaguptaka Vinaya: The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya is a monastic code preserved in East Asian Buddhist traditions. Its ordination procedures underpin the living East Asian bhikkhunī lineage.
Śuddhodana: Śuddhodana was the ruler of the Shakya clan and father of Siddhartha Gautama. Mahāprajāpatī was traditionally his chief consort and the Buddha’s stepmother.
Eight Garudhammas: The Eight Garudhammas are rules that Buddhist texts associate with the establishment of the nuns’ order. The ordination account links her acceptance to these rules.