Khema (Pali: Khemā; Sanskrit: Kṣemā) was a Buddhist bhikkhuni, or nun, who was one of the top female disciples of the Buddha.
She attained enlightenment as a laywoman while listening to one of the Buddha's sermons, considered a rare feat in Buddhist texts.
However, in the Apadāna texts the woman is described as having made the resolution after seeing Padumattara Buddha appoint a nun his chief female disciple.
[9] According to Buddhist tradition, Khema was born in the city of Sagala as the daughter of the king of the Madra Kingdom, located in modern day Sialkot in Punjab, Pakistan.
As a devout Buddhist himself, King Bimbisara tried multiple times to get his wife to visit the Buddha but Khema always refused.
Mara takes the form of a young man and attempts to seduce her, but in a drastic shift from her previous conceit, Khema describes her disgust for the human body and explains that she has moved beyond any attachment to the senses.
[23] The Buddha also praised her for her teaching and leadership skills, declaring Khema and Uppalavanna his chief female disciples that other nuns should take as their model.
Uppalavanna and Khema share the title of chief disciples with their male counterparts, Maha Moggallana and Sariputta.
[24] Sanskrit and Pali scholar Gisela Krey notes that Khema spiritually surpassed her husband, King Bimbisara, who got no farther than stream-entry.
[25] According to German Pali scholar Hellmuth Hecker, Khema's unusually fast attainment of arahantship was no accident, but was something she earned from the great merit that she accumulated over numerous lifetimes, as described in the jatakas.