Previous Year Question

The correct answer is Vaisali.

According to Buddhist tradition, Mahapajapati Gotami, the maternal aunt and foster mother of Gautama Buddha, was the principal woman who requested the entry and ordination of women into the Sangha. She initially requested the Buddha at Kapilavastu to allow women to renounce household life and adopt monastic life, but the Buddha did not accept her request at that time.

Thereafter, Mahapajapati Gotami, along with other Sakyan women, followed the Buddha to Vaisali. According to the Buddhist Vinaya tradition, it was here that Ananda appealed to the Buddha on their behalf to permit women to enter the Sangha.

After Ananda's intervention, women were permitted to enter the Bhikkhuni Sangha, and Mahapajapati Gotami is traditionally regarded as the first Bhikkhuni. Thus, the formal entry of women into the Buddhist monastic order is associated with Vaisali.