Who was the first woman traditionally ordained into the Buddha’s monastic community?

According to Buddhist tradition, Mahapajapati Gotami was the first woman ordained into the Buddha’s monastic community.

Mahapajapati Gotami was the Buddha’s maternal aunt and foster mother. She was the younger sister of Maya, Siddhartha Gautama’s biological mother, who died shortly after his birth. Mahapajapati helped raise Siddhartha and later became a prominent supporter of the Buddhist community.

Traditional accounts say that she requested permission for women to enter the sangha. After repeated requests, the Buddha is said to have accepted the establishment of an order of nuns, with Mahapajapati becoming its first ordained member. She is therefore regarded as the founder or first leader of the Buddhist bhikkhuni order.

The spelling Mahapajapati Gotami follows Pali usage; Sanskrit sources commonly use Mahaprajapati Gautami. She is sometimes confused with Yasodhara, Siddhartha’s wife, or Khema, another renowned early Buddhist nun. These women were important figures, but they were not the person traditionally identified as the first ordained woman.