Ila (Hinduism)
Encyclopedia
Ila is an androgyne in Hindu mythology
, known for his/her sex changes. As a man, he is known as Ila or Sudyumna and as a woman, is called Ilā . Ilā is considered the chief progenitor of the Lunar Dynasty
(Somavamsha) of Indian kings - also known as the Ailas
("descendants of Ilā").
While many versions of the tale exist, Ila is usually described as a daughter or son of Vaivasvata Manu and thus the sibling of Ikshvaku
, the founder of the Solar Dynasty (Arkavamsha or Suryavansha). In versions in which Ila is born a girl, she is changed to a boy by divine grace soon after her birth. After mistakenly entering a sacred grove as an adult, Ila is either cursed to change his/her gender every month or cursed to become a woman. As a woman, Ilā married god Budha
, son of the moon-god Chandra
(Soma) and bore him a son called Pururavas
, the father of the Lunar Dynasty. After the birth of Pururavas, Ilā is transformed into a man again and fathered three sons.
In Vedic literature
, Ilā is also praised as Idā , the goddess of speech, and described as mother of Pururavas. The tale of Ila's transformations is told in the Puranic literature as well as the Hindu epics Ramayana
and Mahabharata
.
and the Mahabharata
, Ilā was born as the eldest daughter of Vaivasvata Manu, the progenitor of mankind, and his wife Shraddha. However, the parents desired a son and so prayed and performed austerities to the deities Mitra
and Varuna
, who changed Ilā's sex. The boy was named Sudyumma. The Bhagavata Purana
, Devi-Bhagavata Purana
, Kurma Purana
, Harivamsa
, Markandeya Purana
and Padma Purana
(referred to as "Bhagavata Purana et al. texts" further) narrate a variant: Ila's parents could not have any children for a long time and approached sage Agastya
for a solution. The sage performed a yagna (fire sacrifice) dedicated to Mitra and Varuna to attain a son for the couple. Due either to an error in the ritual, or a failure to offer the appropriate sacrifice, Mitra and Varuna instead sent a daughter to the couple. In one version, the couple supplicated the deities, who transformed Ilā's gender. In another version, this transformation happens after the erroneous hymns are rectified, and the son is called Ila. According to a variant, Shraddha wished for a daughter; Sage Vasistha
heeded her wish while performing the sacrifice and thus, a daughter was born. However, Manu desired a son so Vashistha appealed to god Vishnu
to change the sex of the daughter. Ilā was renamed Sudhyumna. The accounts describe as Ila either the eldest or the youngest child of Manu. As the child of Manu, Ila had nine brothers, the most notable was Ikshvaku
, the founder of the Solar Dynasty (Arkavamsha or Suryavansha). As the son of Manu, Ila is the grandson of Surya
, the Sun-god. According to another account found in the Vayu Purana
and the Brahmanda Purana
, Ilā was born female and remained a female.
In the Ramayana
, Ila is born as a son of Kardama, the Prajapati
born of god Brahma
's shadow. Ila's tale is told in the Uttara Kanda chapter of the Ramayana, while describing the greatness of the Ashvamedha
- the horse sacrifice.
in a forest, Ila accidentally tresspassed Śaravana ("Forest of Reeds"), the sacred grove of goddess Parvati
, the wife of Shiva. Upon entering Śaravana, all male beings except for Shiva, including the trees and animals, are transformed into females.Śaravaṇa ("Forest of Reeds") is described as the place where Skanda
, the son of Shiva, was born. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana narrates that once the sages intruded on the love-making of Shiva and Parvati so Shiva cursed the forest that all male beings entering it would be transformed into females. In the Ramayana, even Shiva had assumed the form of a female to please the goddess. One legend tells that a female yakshini
disguised herself as a deer and purposefully led king Ila to the grove in order to save her husband from the king. The Linga Purana and Mahabharata emphasize the sex change of Ila to be a deliberate act of Shiva to start the Lunar Dynasty
. The Bhagavata Purana et al. texts tell that Ila's entire entourage as well as his horse also changed their genders.
According to the Ramayana, when Ila approached Shiva for help, Shiva laughed with scorn but the compassionate goddess Parvati reduced the curse and allowed Ila to switch genders every month. However, as a male he would not remember his life as a female, and as a female she would not remember her life as a male. While Ilā roamed the forest in her new form with her female attendants, Budha
, the god of planet Mercury and the son of the moon-god Chandra
noticed her. Although he had been practicing asceticism
, Ilā's beauty caused him to fall in love with her at first sight. Budha turned Ilā's attendants into Kimpurusha
s (hermaphrodite
, lit. "is it a man?") and ordered them to run away, promising that they would find mates as Ilā had.
Ilā married Budha and spent an entire month making love to him. However, Ilā woke one morning as Ila and remembered nothing about the past month. Budha told Ila that his retinue
had been killed in a rain of stones and convinced Ila to stay with him for a year. During each month she spent as a woman, Ilā had pleasure with Budha. During each month as a man, Ila turned to pious ways and performed austerities under the guidance of Budha. In the ninth month, Ilā gave birth to Pururavas
, who grew to become the first king of the Lunar Dynasty. Then, as per the advice of Budha and Ila's father Kardama, Ila pleased Shiva with a horse-sacrifice, and Shiva restored Ila's masculinity permanently.
Another legend from Vishnu Purana
credits the god Vishnu
of restoring Ilā's manhood as Sudyumma. The Bhagavata Purana et al. texts tell that after Pururavas's birth, the nine brothers of Ila or sage Vasistha – the family priest of Ila – pleased Shiva to compel him to give the boon of alternate month manhood to Ila, turning him into a Kimpurusha. Linga Purana and Mahabharata record the birth of Pururavas, but do not narrate the end of Ila's alternating gender condition. In fact, Mahabharata describes Ilā to be the mother as well as the father of Pururavas. According to another account found in the Vayu Purana and the Brahmanda Purana, Ilā was born female, married Budha, then was transformed into a male called Sudyumna. Sudyumna was then cursed by Parvati and transformed once again into a female, but became a man once again through Shiva's boon.
In almost all versions of the tale, Ila wants to live as a man, but in the Skanda Purana
version of tale, Ila desires to be a woman. The king Ela (Ila) entered Parvati's grove at Sahya mountain and became the woman Ilā. Ilā wished to remain a woman and serve goddess Parvati (Gauri) and Ganga, the river goddess. However, the goddesses dissuaded him and told him that life as a woman was a curse and full of sorrow. Ilā bathed in a sacred pool and returned as Ela, bearded and deep-voiced.
after Ilā or as the Lunar Dynasty
due to their descent from Budha, the son of the moon-god Chandra. Most versions of tale call Ilā the father as well as the mother of the Ailas. The Linga Purana and Mahabharata, in which Sudyumma's curse does not end, state that as a male, Sudyumma also bore three sons named Utkala, Gaya and Vinatashva (also known as Haritashva and Vinata). The three sons ruled the kingdom for their father as Sudyumma was unable to do so himself due his alternating gender. The sons and their principalities are called the Saudyumnas. Utkala, Gaya, and Vinatashva ruled Utkala country, Gaya
, and eastern regions including northern Kurus respectively. With the assistance of sage Vasistha
, Sudyumma regained control of the entire kingdom. He was succeeded by Pururavas.
In the Matsya Purana
, Ila was disinherited after becoming a female or kimpurusha. Ila's father passed his inheritance directly to Pururavas, ignoring the three sons Ila-Sudyumma bore as a male. Pururavas ruled from Pratishtanapura (present-day Allahabad
), where Ila stayed with him. The Ramayana says that having returned to manhood, Ila ruled Pratishtana while his son Shashabindu ruled over Bahlika. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana tells that as a man Sudyumma governed the kingdom and as a woman remained indoors. His subjects were disturbed by his sex changes and did not respect him as they once had. When Pururavas attained adulthood, Sudyumma left his kingdom to Pururavas and went to the forest for penance. Sage Narada
told Sudyumma a nine-syllable mantra
, Navakshara, which would please the Supreme Goddess
. Pleased with his austeriies, the Goddess emerged before Sudyumma, who was in his female form Ilā. Sudyumma praised the Goddess, who merged the king's soul with herself and thus, Ilā gained salvation.
The Bhagavata Purana, Devi-Bhagavata Purana and Linga Purana declare that Ila ascended to heaven with both male and female anatomy. Ila is considered the chief progenitor of the Lunar Dynasty through Pururavas and of the Solar Dynasty through his brother Iksavaku and sons Utkala, Gaya, and Vinatashva. The marriage of Ilā, a descendant of the Sun, and Budha, the son of the Moon, is the first union of the solar and lunar races recorded in the scriptures.
- a commentator on the Vedas, she presides over the Earth.
In the Shatapatha Brahmana
, Manu performed a fire-sacrifice in order to have children. Idā emerged from the sacrifice. She was claimed by Mitra-Varuna, but she lived with Manu and together they initiated the race of Manu. In this text, Idā is the goddess of the sacrificial meal. She is described as the Mānavi (daughter of Manu) and Ghṛtapadī (with the ghee
-dripping foot) and she is represented by a cow, also known as Idā during a sacrifice. Pururavas is mentioned as the son of Ilā in the text.
Hindu mythology
Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
, known for his/her sex changes. As a man, he is known as Ila or Sudyumna and as a woman, is called Ilā . Ilā is considered the chief progenitor of the Lunar Dynasty
Lunar Dynasty
In Hindu mythology, the Lunar Dynasty is one of the three principal houses of the Kshatriya varna, or warrior–ruling caste...
(Somavamsha) of Indian kings - also known as the Ailas
Ailas
The Ailas were a dynasty of kings of ancient India. Pururavas, the son of Ila was the founder of this dynasty. The Mahabharata mentioned about the Ailas as, "The numerous royal lines and other ordinary Kshatriyas all represent themselves to be the descendants of Aila and Ikshwaku...
("descendants of Ilā").
While many versions of the tale exist, Ila is usually described as a daughter or son of Vaivasvata Manu and thus the sibling of Ikshvaku
Ikshvaku
Ikshvaku pāli: Okkāka) was the first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty and founder of the Solar Dynasty of Kshatriyas in Vedic civilization in ancient India.-In Hinduism:He is remembered in Hindu scriptures as a righteous and glorious king...
, the founder of the Solar Dynasty (Arkavamsha or Suryavansha). In versions in which Ila is born a girl, she is changed to a boy by divine grace soon after her birth. After mistakenly entering a sacred grove as an adult, Ila is either cursed to change his/her gender every month or cursed to become a woman. As a woman, Ilā married god Budha
Budha
In Hindu mythology, Budha is the name for the planet Mercury, a son of Chandra with Tara or Rohini. He is also the god of merchandise and protector of Merchants....
, son of the moon-god Chandra
Chandra
In Hinduism, Chandra is a lunar deity and a Graha. Chandra is also identified with the Vedic Lunar deity Soma . The Soma name refers particularly to the juice of sap in the plants and thus makes the Moon the lord of plants and vegetation. He is described as young, beautiful, fair; two-armed and...
(Soma) and bore him a son called Pururavas
Pururavas
Pururavas was the first king of the Aila dynasty or the Somavamsha. According to the Vedas, he is a mythological entity associated with the Surya and Usha , and is believed to resided in the middle region of the cosmos. The Rig Veda states that he was a son of Ila and was a pious king...
, the father of the Lunar Dynasty. After the birth of Pururavas, Ilā is transformed into a man again and fathered three sons.
In Vedic literature
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
, Ilā is also praised as Idā , the goddess of speech, and described as mother of Pururavas. The tale of Ila's transformations is told in the Puranic literature as well as the Hindu epics Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
.
Birth
According to the Linga PuranaLinga Purana
The Linga Purana is one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text. The extant text is divided into two parts, comprising 108 and 55 chapters respectively. These parts contain the description regarding the origin of universe, origin of the linga, and emergence of Brahma and Vishnu, and...
and the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, Ilā was born as the eldest daughter of Vaivasvata Manu, the progenitor of mankind, and his wife Shraddha. However, the parents desired a son and so prayed and performed austerities to the deities Mitra
Mitra
*Mitra was an important Indo-Iranian divinity. Following the prehistoric cultural split of Indo-Aryan and Iranian cultures, names descended from *mitra were used for the following religious entities:...
and Varuna
Varuna
In Vedic religion, Varuna is a god of the sky, of water and of the celestial ocean, as well as a god of law and of the underworld...
, who changed Ilā's sex. The boy was named Sudyumma. The Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
, Devi-Bhagavata Purana
Devi-Bhagavata Purana
Devi-Bhagavata Purana , also known as Shrimad Devi Bhagvatam or Devi Bhagavatam, is one of the most important work in Shaktism, the veneration in Hinduism of the divine feminine, next to Devi Mahatmya...
, Kurma Purana
Kurma Purana
-Contents:The printed editions of this text are divided into two s , the and the . The has 53 chapters and the has 46 chapters.According to the tradition, the originally consisted of four s : the , the , the and the . The extant text would correspond to the .The gives a brief overview of...
, Harivamsa
Harivamsa
The Harivamsha is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 verses, mostly in metre. The text is also known as . This text is believed as a khila to the Mahabharata and is traditionally ascribed to Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa...
, Markandeya Purana
Markandeya Purana
The Markandeya Purana is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts. It is written in the style of a dialogue between the ancient sage Markandeya and Jaimini, a disciple of Vyasa.-Contents:...
and Padma Purana
Padma Purana
Padma Purana , one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text, is divided into five parts.In the first part of the text, sage Pulastya explains to Bhishma about religion and the essence of the religion. The second part describes in detail Prithvi...
(referred to as "Bhagavata Purana et al. texts" further) narrate a variant: Ila's parents could not have any children for a long time and approached sage Agastya
Agastya
Agastya was a Tamil/Vedic Siddhar or sage. Agastya and his clan are also generally credited with uncovering many mantras of the Rig Veda, the earliest and most revered Hindu scripture, in the sense of first having the mantras revealed in his mind by the Supreme Brahman...
for a solution. The sage performed a yagna (fire sacrifice) dedicated to Mitra and Varuna to attain a son for the couple. Due either to an error in the ritual, or a failure to offer the appropriate sacrifice, Mitra and Varuna instead sent a daughter to the couple. In one version, the couple supplicated the deities, who transformed Ilā's gender. In another version, this transformation happens after the erroneous hymns are rectified, and the son is called Ila. According to a variant, Shraddha wished for a daughter; Sage Vasistha
Vasistha
Vashist in the seventh, i.e the present Manvantara, and the Rajpurohit / Rajguru of the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty. He was the mānasaputra of Brahma. He had in his possession the divine cow Kamadhenu, and Nandini her child, who could grant anything to their owners...
heeded her wish while performing the sacrifice and thus, a daughter was born. However, Manu desired a son so Vashistha appealed to god Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
to change the sex of the daughter. Ilā was renamed Sudhyumna. The accounts describe as Ila either the eldest or the youngest child of Manu. As the child of Manu, Ila had nine brothers, the most notable was Ikshvaku
Ikshvaku
Ikshvaku pāli: Okkāka) was the first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty and founder of the Solar Dynasty of Kshatriyas in Vedic civilization in ancient India.-In Hinduism:He is remembered in Hindu scriptures as a righteous and glorious king...
, the founder of the Solar Dynasty (Arkavamsha or Suryavansha). As the son of Manu, Ila is the grandson of Surya
Surya
Surya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...
, the Sun-god. According to another account found in the Vayu Purana
Vayu Purana
The Vayu Purana is a Shaiva Purana, a Hindu religious text, dedicated to the god Vayu , containing about 24,000 shlokas.-Date:Banabhatta refers to this work in his Kadambari and Harshacharita...
and the Brahmanda Purana
Brahmanda Purana
The Brahmanda Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts and has been assigned the eighteenth place in almost all the lists of the Puranas.Brahma in Sanskrit means "the biggest", anda/andam means globe...
, Ilā was born female and remained a female.
In the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, Ila is born as a son of Kardama, the Prajapati
Prajapati
In Hinduism, Prajapati "lord of creatures" is a Hindu deity presiding over procreation, and protector of life. He appears as a creator deity or supreme God Viswakarma Vedic deities in RV 10 and in Brahmana literature...
born of god Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
's shadow. Ila's tale is told in the Uttara Kanda chapter of the Ramayana, while describing the greatness of the Ashvamedha
Ashvamedha
The Ashvamedha was one of the most important royal rituals of Vedic religion, described in detail in the Yajurveda...
- the horse sacrifice.
Curse and marriage to Budha
In the Ramayana, Linga Purana, and Mahabharata, Ila grows to become the king of Bahlika. While huntingHunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
in a forest, Ila accidentally tresspassed Śaravana ("Forest of Reeds"), the sacred grove of goddess Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
, the wife of Shiva. Upon entering Śaravana, all male beings except for Shiva, including the trees and animals, are transformed into females.Śaravaṇa ("Forest of Reeds") is described as the place where Skanda
Murugan
Murugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the...
, the son of Shiva, was born. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana narrates that once the sages intruded on the love-making of Shiva and Parvati so Shiva cursed the forest that all male beings entering it would be transformed into females. In the Ramayana, even Shiva had assumed the form of a female to please the goddess. One legend tells that a female yakshini
Yakshini
Yakshinis are mythical beings of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology.-Description:A yakshini is the female counterpart of the male yaksha, and they both attend on Kubera , the Hindu god of wealth who rules in the mythical Himalayan kingdom of Alaka. They both look after treasure hidden in the...
disguised herself as a deer and purposefully led king Ila to the grove in order to save her husband from the king. The Linga Purana and Mahabharata emphasize the sex change of Ila to be a deliberate act of Shiva to start the Lunar Dynasty
Lunar Dynasty
In Hindu mythology, the Lunar Dynasty is one of the three principal houses of the Kshatriya varna, or warrior–ruling caste...
. The Bhagavata Purana et al. texts tell that Ila's entire entourage as well as his horse also changed their genders.
According to the Ramayana, when Ila approached Shiva for help, Shiva laughed with scorn but the compassionate goddess Parvati reduced the curse and allowed Ila to switch genders every month. However, as a male he would not remember his life as a female, and as a female she would not remember her life as a male. While Ilā roamed the forest in her new form with her female attendants, Budha
Budha
In Hindu mythology, Budha is the name for the planet Mercury, a son of Chandra with Tara or Rohini. He is also the god of merchandise and protector of Merchants....
, the god of planet Mercury and the son of the moon-god Chandra
Chandra
In Hinduism, Chandra is a lunar deity and a Graha. Chandra is also identified with the Vedic Lunar deity Soma . The Soma name refers particularly to the juice of sap in the plants and thus makes the Moon the lord of plants and vegetation. He is described as young, beautiful, fair; two-armed and...
noticed her. Although he had been practicing asceticism
Asceticism
Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...
, Ilā's beauty caused him to fall in love with her at first sight. Budha turned Ilā's attendants into Kimpurusha
Kimpurusha Kingdom
Kimpurusha Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe called Kimpurushas who were one among the Exotic Tribes of Ancient India. These exotic tribes lived in inaccessible regions like the Himalaya mountains and had limited interaction with the Vedic civilization of ancient India...
s (hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
, lit. "is it a man?") and ordered them to run away, promising that they would find mates as Ilā had.
Ilā married Budha and spent an entire month making love to him. However, Ilā woke one morning as Ila and remembered nothing about the past month. Budha told Ila that his retinue
Retinue
A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble or royal personage, a suite of "retainers".-Etymology:...
had been killed in a rain of stones and convinced Ila to stay with him for a year. During each month she spent as a woman, Ilā had pleasure with Budha. During each month as a man, Ila turned to pious ways and performed austerities under the guidance of Budha. In the ninth month, Ilā gave birth to Pururavas
Pururavas
Pururavas was the first king of the Aila dynasty or the Somavamsha. According to the Vedas, he is a mythological entity associated with the Surya and Usha , and is believed to resided in the middle region of the cosmos. The Rig Veda states that he was a son of Ila and was a pious king...
, who grew to become the first king of the Lunar Dynasty. Then, as per the advice of Budha and Ila's father Kardama, Ila pleased Shiva with a horse-sacrifice, and Shiva restored Ila's masculinity permanently.
Another legend from Vishnu Purana
Vishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna...
credits the god Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
of restoring Ilā's manhood as Sudyumma. The Bhagavata Purana et al. texts tell that after Pururavas's birth, the nine brothers of Ila or sage Vasistha – the family priest of Ila – pleased Shiva to compel him to give the boon of alternate month manhood to Ila, turning him into a Kimpurusha. Linga Purana and Mahabharata record the birth of Pururavas, but do not narrate the end of Ila's alternating gender condition. In fact, Mahabharata describes Ilā to be the mother as well as the father of Pururavas. According to another account found in the Vayu Purana and the Brahmanda Purana, Ilā was born female, married Budha, then was transformed into a male called Sudyumna. Sudyumna was then cursed by Parvati and transformed once again into a female, but became a man once again through Shiva's boon.
In almost all versions of the tale, Ila wants to live as a man, but in the Skanda Purana
Skanda Purana
The Skanda Purana is the largest Mahapurana, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text is devoted mainly to the lilas of Kartikeya , a son of Shiva and Parvati. It also contains a number of legends about Shiva, and the holy places associated with him...
version of tale, Ila desires to be a woman. The king Ela (Ila) entered Parvati's grove at Sahya mountain and became the woman Ilā. Ilā wished to remain a woman and serve goddess Parvati (Gauri) and Ganga, the river goddess. However, the goddesses dissuaded him and told him that life as a woman was a curse and full of sorrow. Ilā bathed in a sacred pool and returned as Ela, bearded and deep-voiced.
Later life and descendents
The descendants of Ilā through Pururavas are known as AilasAilas
The Ailas were a dynasty of kings of ancient India. Pururavas, the son of Ila was the founder of this dynasty. The Mahabharata mentioned about the Ailas as, "The numerous royal lines and other ordinary Kshatriyas all represent themselves to be the descendants of Aila and Ikshwaku...
after Ilā or as the Lunar Dynasty
Lunar Dynasty
In Hindu mythology, the Lunar Dynasty is one of the three principal houses of the Kshatriya varna, or warrior–ruling caste...
due to their descent from Budha, the son of the moon-god Chandra. Most versions of tale call Ilā the father as well as the mother of the Ailas. The Linga Purana and Mahabharata, in which Sudyumma's curse does not end, state that as a male, Sudyumma also bore three sons named Utkala, Gaya and Vinatashva (also known as Haritashva and Vinata). The three sons ruled the kingdom for their father as Sudyumma was unable to do so himself due his alternating gender. The sons and their principalities are called the Saudyumnas. Utkala, Gaya, and Vinatashva ruled Utkala country, Gaya
Gaya, India
Gaya is the second largest city of Bihar, India, and it is also the headquarters of Gaya District.Gaya is 100 kilometers south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. Situated on the banks of Falgu River , it is a place sanctified by both the Hindu and the Buddhist religions...
, and eastern regions including northern Kurus respectively. With the assistance of sage Vasistha
Vasistha
Vashist in the seventh, i.e the present Manvantara, and the Rajpurohit / Rajguru of the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty. He was the mānasaputra of Brahma. He had in his possession the divine cow Kamadhenu, and Nandini her child, who could grant anything to their owners...
, Sudyumma regained control of the entire kingdom. He was succeeded by Pururavas.
In the Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana is the sixteenth purana of the Hindu scriptures. During the period of mahapralaya, Lord Vishnu had taken Matsya Avatar to save the seeds of all lives and Manu...
, Ila was disinherited after becoming a female or kimpurusha. Ila's father passed his inheritance directly to Pururavas, ignoring the three sons Ila-Sudyumma bore as a male. Pururavas ruled from Pratishtanapura (present-day Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
), where Ila stayed with him. The Ramayana says that having returned to manhood, Ila ruled Pratishtana while his son Shashabindu ruled over Bahlika. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana tells that as a man Sudyumma governed the kingdom and as a woman remained indoors. His subjects were disturbed by his sex changes and did not respect him as they once had. When Pururavas attained adulthood, Sudyumma left his kingdom to Pururavas and went to the forest for penance. Sage Narada
Narada
Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
told Sudyumma a nine-syllable mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
, Navakshara, which would please the Supreme Goddess
Devi
Devī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
. Pleased with his austeriies, the Goddess emerged before Sudyumma, who was in his female form Ilā. Sudyumma praised the Goddess, who merged the king's soul with herself and thus, Ilā gained salvation.
The Bhagavata Purana, Devi-Bhagavata Purana and Linga Purana declare that Ila ascended to heaven with both male and female anatomy. Ila is considered the chief progenitor of the Lunar Dynasty through Pururavas and of the Solar Dynasty through his brother Iksavaku and sons Utkala, Gaya, and Vinatashva. The marriage of Ilā, a descendant of the Sun, and Budha, the son of the Moon, is the first union of the solar and lunar races recorded in the scriptures.
In Vedic literature
In Vedic literature, Ilā is also known as Idā. Idā in the Rigveda, signifies food and refreshment, personified as the goddess of speech. Ilā-Idā is also associated with Sarasvati, the goddess of knowledge. Ilā-Idā is mentioned a number of times in the Rigveda, mostly in the hymns known as Āprīsūktas. She is often mentioned along with Sarasvati and Bharati (or Mahi) and Pururavas is described as her son. Idā is the instructor of Manu, in performing ritual sacrifices. According to SayanaSayana
' was an important commentator on the Vedas. He flourished under King Bukka I and his successor Harihara II, in the Vijayanagar Empire of South India...
- a commentator on the Vedas, she presides over the Earth.
In the Shatapatha Brahmana
Shatapatha Brahmana
The Shatapatha Brahmana is one of the prose texts describing the Vedic ritual, associated with the Shukla Yajurveda. It survives in two recensions, Madhyandina and Kanva , with the former having the eponymous 100 adhyayas,7624 kandikas in 14 books, and the latter 104 adhyayas,6806 kandikas in 17...
, Manu performed a fire-sacrifice in order to have children. Idā emerged from the sacrifice. She was claimed by Mitra-Varuna, but she lived with Manu and together they initiated the race of Manu. In this text, Idā is the goddess of the sacrificial meal. She is described as the Mānavi (daughter of Manu) and Ghṛtapadī (with the ghee
Ghee
Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian cuisine....
-dripping foot) and she is represented by a cow, also known as Idā during a sacrifice. Pururavas is mentioned as the son of Ilā in the text.