Iḷā and Budha

Iḷā was a child of Vaivasvata Manu. She entered a grove that belonged to Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī, and she changed form. Later she became the wife of Budha, the son of Candra and Tārā. Their son was Purūravas, who began the lunar branch of the Candravaṃśa. That line leads on to the Yādavas, the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas. In this way the account joins the solar and the lunar dynasties.

Iḷā’s birth

Iḷā was born to Vaivasvata Manu. She is usually called his daughter. Some accounts speak of a son named Sudyumna, who was changed into her. The Matsya Purāṇa tells her story among the early kings of the Sūryavaṃśa, the solar dynasty. Vaivasvata Manu’s children included ten sons and the daughter Iḷā. The sons named are Ikshvāku, Nṛga, Dhṛshṭa, Śaryāti, Narishyanta, Nābhāga, Dishṭa, Karūsha and Pṛshadhra. The solar dynasty goes down mainly through Ikshvāku. Iḷā’s line joins the Candravaṃśa.

The change of form

Iḷā, called Sudyumna in her male form, entered a sacred forest grove that belonged to Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī. Bhagavān Śiva had given Pārvatī a vara that every male who entered this grove would become a woman. As soon as Iḷā entered, she was changed into a woman, and so were all the men with her.

Iḷā and her companions came out of the forest as women, confused and lost. Through the mercy of Bhagavān Śiva a part of the vara was given back. Iḷā would change between male and female form, one month as a woman and one month as a man. While in one form she would remember nothing of the other. This changing between male and female was special to Iḷā’s life, and it shaped the line of kings that came from her.

Budha and Purūravas

In one of her months as a woman, Iḷā came to the āśrama of Budha. Budha was the son of Candra, the moon, and Tārā. He was born after the great war over Tārā, in which Candra had carried her away from her husband Bṛhaspati. Budha, the planet Mercury, had great intelligence and charm. He was struck by Iḷā’s beauty, and they came together as husband and wife.

Their son was Purūravas. He was one of the greatest heroes of the Candravaṃśa and is known for his love for the apsarā Urvaśī. He began the line from which Nahusha, Yayāti, Yadu, Pūru and finally the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas came. Purūravas had the lunar line of his father Budha and the solar line of his mother Iḷā, who came from Manu. He is a bridge between the two great dynasties of ancient Bhārata.

Sources

• Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 11–12