Sundari Nanda

Princess Sundarī Nandā of Shakya, also known simply a Sundarī, was the daughter of King Suddhodana and Queen Mahapajapati Gotami.She was the half-sister of Siddhartha Gautama, who later became a Buddha. She became a nun after the enlightenment of her half-brother and became an arhat. She was the foremost among bhikkhunis in the practice of jhana (total meditative absorption). She lived during the 6th century BCE in what is now Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India. Early years When she was born, Princess Nandā was lovingly welcomed by her parents: Her father was King Śuddhodana, also the father of Siddhartha; her mother was Mahaprajapati. Mahaprajapati was the second wife of Suddhodarna and the younger sister of his first wife, the late Queen Maya. 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, and her cousins Anuruddha and Ananda, who were two of the Buddha’s five leading disciples. According to therigatha she was to get married with her own brother Nanda 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. 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, 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 of meritorious actions in past lives. These karmic traits became impediments to Nanda, since she neglected to reinforce them with new actions.