Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī

Foster mother of Gautama Buddha and the first Buddhist nun

Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī (Sanskrit: महाप्रजापती गौतमी; Pali: Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī) or simply Prajāpatī was the foster-mother, step-mother and maternal aunt (mother's sister) of the Buddha. Therefore, based on the Therī-apadāna (Mahāpajāpatigotamī-therīapadāna, Thi Ap 17), Gotamī is referred to by the title "Mother of the Buddha" (Pali: Buddhamātā). In Buddhist tradition, she was the first woman to seek ordination for women, which she did from Siddhartha Gautama directly, and she became the first bhikṣuṇī (Buddhist nun).

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