Story of Ila and Budh

The Story of Ila and Budh

The Ikshvaku dynasty which had many illustrious kings such as Sri Rama, Trishanku and Harish Chandra had a lineage that could be traced back to Lord Brahma. The lineage was Lord Brahma’s son Marichi, whose son was Kashyapa, whose son was Surya, and whose son was Vaivaswata Manu. Vaivaswata Manu’s son was Sudyumna, who gave birth to the first Chandravanshi king, Pururava. What? How is this possible? How can Sudyumna, a man, give birth to a child who will be the progenitor of the Chandravanshi dynasty?

Of course, there is a story behind it and an interesting one too. Vaivaswata Manu and his wife did not have children for many years after their marriage. Desirous of having a child, they did a yagna. They got a son who was named Sudyuma. The couple subsequently got Ikshvaku and nine other children. So Sudyumna and Ikshvaku were siblings.

Sudyumna, a young man went to the Kumara Vana near Mount Kailash for a hunt one day. As they entered the forest (vana) they felt a strange sensation and the young men got scattered. Sudyumna, driven by a strange magnetism was drawn deeper and deeper into the forest.

 At first, Sudyumna felt compelled to just keep going. As he kept going inside the forest, Sudyumna felt a strange sensation. His skin had become softer and hairless, his hair grew longer till it reached his waist. His face skin had become smooth and he noticed that his hips swayed with his walk. Much as he tried to control his transformation, he couldn’t. He was terrified and confused. After sometime he noticed that his hunting garments were tight around his chest. He looked down and to his horror realized that he had breasts. Now he was truly petrified.

 He did not know what was this transformation or magic that overcome him. He saw a pond nearby and went near it. With a lot of fear and confusion he looked into the water and saw his own image. He screeched with horror. Staring back at him was a beautiful young woman.

 Sudyumna could not and did not want to believe his eyes. HE HAD BECOME A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN. The problem was he was a man in a woman’s body. Not knowing what this sorcery was, he was wandering around miserably.

He kept repeating to himself like a mad man (woman?). I have become a woman. Suddenly he heard a response. “Yes Sudyumna, indeed you have become a woman.”

He turned around to see Lord Shiva smiling at him. He fell at Shiva’s feet and said “Mahadeva, what is this thriuvilayadal (divine game)? I am in hell. I have a body of a woman and the sensibilities of a man. Why did this happen? What mistake did I commit?” He was sobbing at the feet of Mahadeva.

Iswara took pity on him and said “It is not your fault Sudyumna. It is the place.” Sudyumna stared with tear filled eyes. “The place my lord?”

Shiva said “Yes. This is Kumara Vana. Parvati and I come here to enjoy in ekaanth (alone / solitude). Once when we were together, a few sages happen to pass by. This embarrassed Ma Parvati and she was upset. I therefore deigned that anyone entering this forest will become a woman.”

Sudyumna was not appeased “My Lord, I am a prince that too of the Suryavanshi dynasty. I have responsibilities. I cannot live a conflicted life where I feel like a man and look like a woman. It is better you grant me death instead.”

Shiva took pity on him. He said “I cannot change what I have deigned. But I can make you forget your memories as a prince or as a man when you are inside this forest. When you go out of the forest you will again become a man and remember your duty towards you family and your country. As a man you shall be known as Sudyumna and as a woman you shall be known by the name Ila.” Saying thus, Mahadeva blessed Sudyumna and vanished.

Depressed and sad Sudyumna kept wandering in the forest. Slowly his memory started deserting him and he was as if in a trance. (Hereafter we shall refer to Sudyumna as Ila as her transformation was complete.)

Ila was beautiful, young and vigorous and was walking in the forest. Except she did not know who she was or where she came from or if she had any family. The only thing she remembered about herself was her name, Ila and that it was given to her by someone powerful and divine.

Ila sat under a tree near the pond. Hours go by and the sun was setting. A lustrous and divine looking man comes near the pond. He seemed to be surprised to see a beautiful young woman sitting in the middle of the forest when darkness was setting in.

He came to Ila and asked “Are you an apsara descended from heaven? What are you doing alone in the forest in the dark? It is dangerous. What is your name? Where are you from?”

Ila looked at him with forlorn eyes and said “I don’t know where I am from or what I am doing here. All I seem to remember is that my is Ila.”

The divine being smiled and replied “What a beautiful name, Ila. Why do you not remember anything more? Is it some curse?”

Ila replied “I don’t remember that also. Was I some one else? Am I some one else now? “The divine being was very amused now. “What!! Are you a shape shifter? I thought I had enough shape shifters in my life.”

Ila was too confused to even get angry. She just said “Who is the other shape shifter? The only one I know is Chandra, the moon God.”

The divine being replied “The same. Chandra the moon God as you refer to him waxes and wanes. He also happens to be my father.”

Ila laughs. She started to get friendly with the divine being and asked him for his name. He replied “I am Budha, the son of Chandra.”

Chandra and Ila started spending time with each other in the forest and eventually fell in love. They had a child who they named Pururava. Pururava grew up to become the progenitor of the Chadravanshi dynasty.

As promised by Shiva, Ila became Sudyumna and led a normal life outside of the forest and hand three children Utkala, Gaya and Vinatashva as a man.

Twist in the tale

The reason for the shift from a male to female is given differently in different places. In the Linga Purana and the Mahabharata, it is said that Vaivaswata Manu and his wife Shradha got a daughter on doing the yagna. They prayed to the gods Mitra and Varuna for a boy and hence the child was changed to a boy.  According to Vayu Purana and the Brahamanda Purana, Ila was born female and remained female. In Hari Vamsa, Devi Bhagavata Purana, Kurma Purana, Markandeya Purana and the Padma Purana many versions are given of this story.

·     The Vaivaswata couple pray to Agastya to do the ceremonies for a male child and by mistake Mitra and Varuna bless them with a girl child and correct it later.

·     There is an error in the procedure that gets the couple a girl child and the error is corrected to get a male child.

·     In yet another version, Shradha wanted a daughter while Manu wanted a son. After getting a daughter, the couple enlist the help of Vasishta who intervene on their behalf to Lord Vishnu to fulfil their desires.

The story that we have given is what version that appealed to us best. Readers can pick their favourites.