Who was the first woman to be ordained as a Buddhist nun (bhikkhuni)?

Mahapajapati Gotami, the Buddha's foster mother and aunt, was the first woman to be ordained as a Buddhist nun (bhikkhuni).

About Mahapajapati Gotami:

• She was the younger sister of Maya, the Buddha's mother.
• After Maya died a few days after the Buddha's birth, Mahapajapati brought him up as her own son.
• She was also married to the Buddha's father, Suddhodana.
• After Suddhodana's death, she asked the Buddha to allow women to join the Buddhist order (sangha) as nuns.

How women were admitted to the Sangha:

• At first, the Buddha hesitated.
• Mahapajapati and a group of Shakya women shaved their heads, put on yellow robes, and walked a long distance to Vaishali to repeat their request.
• The Buddha's disciple Ananda pleaded on their behalf.
• The Buddha finally agreed, and Mahapajapati became the first bhikkhuni.
• Women had to follow additional rules ("garudhammas"), which placed nuns under monks in some matters.

NCERT on women in the Sangha:

• NCERT notes that the Buddha's foster mother was the first woman to be ordained as a bhikkhuni.
• Many women who joined the Sangha became teachers of the dhamma and attained liberation ("theris").
• Women from different backgrounds, including queens, merchants' daughters and courtesans, joined the Sangha.

Other important women in early Buddhism:

• "Yashodhara": the Buddha's wife, who also later became a nun.
• "Sujata": the village girl who offered the Buddha rice pudding before his enlightenment.
• "Amrapali": a famous courtesan of Vaishali who donated a mango grove to the Buddha and later became a nun.
• "Visakha": a wealthy woman lay follower who built the Purvarama monastery at Shravasti.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Yashodhara was the Buddha's wife.
• ✗Sujata offered him food before enlightenment.
• ✗Amrapali was a courtesan of Vaishali who became a follower.