Amrapali

Amrapāli, also known as "Ambapālika" or "Ambapali", was a nagarvadhu (royal courtesan) of the republic of Vaishali in ancient India around 500 BC. Following the Buddha's teachings, she became an arahant. She is mentioned in the old Pali texts and Buddhist traditions, particularly in conjunction with the Buddha staying at her mango grove, Ambapali vana, which she later donated to his order and wherein he preached the famous Ambapalika Sutta. The legend of Amrapali originated in the Buddhist Jataka Tales some 1500 years ago.

Amrapali or Ambapali was born around 600-500 BC to an unknown parentage, and was given her name because at her birth she was found at the foot of a mango tree in one of the royal gardens in Vaishali. A feudal named Mahanaman of Vaishali, now a district on the bank of River Ganga, had traced the rare beauty of Amrapali when she was a child. Lured by the beauty of Amrapali, Mahanaman abandoned his kingdom and shifted to Ambara village, a small hamlet in Vaishali. (Etymologically, the variants on her name derive from a combination of two Sanskrit words: "amra", meaning mango, and "pallawa", meaning young leaves or sprouts.

Amrapali grew to be a lady of extraordinary beauty, charm, and grace in the city of Vaishali, the capital city of the Lichchavi clan, one of the eight Khattiya (Sanskrit, Kshatriya) clans that had united to form the Vajjian confederacy. The Vajjian confederacy is reputed to be the world’s oldest democracy where the King was elected by an electoral college consisting of princes and nobles from the Kshatriya clans. Many young nobles of the republic desired her company. To avoid confrontations among her suitors, she was accorded the status of the state courtesan of Vaishali. Amrapali was declared the "most beautiful" girl at the age of 11. When the undisputed king of Vaishali, Manudev, (belonging to the illustrious Lichchavi clan of the confederacy) desires to possess Amrapali after he sees her dance performance in the city, he plans to 'own' her. He lets his greed get the better of him; murders Amrapali's would-be-groom, Pushpakumar (her childhood love) on the day of marriage and makes an official announcement declaring Amrapali the 'bride' of Vaishali i.e. the Nagarvadhu, only to satisfy his mounting sexual urge. Amrapali was made nagarvadhu and Vaishali Janpad Kalayani. (Janpath Kalyani was the term given to the most beautiful and talented girl of the kingdom. A Janpath Kalyani was selected for a period of seven years and a palace was given to her. A Janpath Kalyani had the right to choose her lover and get a person of her choice for a physical relationship but it did not necessarily work the other way round.) Soon after being conferred the title of nagarvadhu, Amrapali became the court dancer as per the rules of Vaishali democracy.

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