She was the niece of Sīha senāpati and was born in Vesāli.

She heard, one day, the Buddha teach Sāriputta, and entered the Order with her parents’ consent.

For seven years she tried, without success, to concentrate her mind. Then she tied a noose round her neck and fastened the end to a tree, and in this position she compelled her mind to gain insight. Then she loosened the noose. Thig.vss.77-81; ThigA.79.