A Son Born from a Ritual Error
Ila (also called Sudyumna in the male form) was born to King Vaivasvata Manu, first man of this age and progenitor of the human race, through a sacrifice performed specifically to obtain a son. A ritual error, variously attributed to the officiating priest's mistake or to the goddess presiding over the rite, resulted in a daughter being born instead of the intended son, an outcome Manu, disappointed but accepting, prayed to have corrected. Through further ritual intervention, the child was transformed into a son and named Sudyumna, who grew up and eventually went hunting with companions in a nearby forest.
A forest under a very specific curse
This forest happened to be one where Shiva, at Parvati's own request during a moment of private intimacy between them, had decreed that any male entering it, human or animal, would immediately become female, a boundary set to preserve the couple's privacy from intruders (with an exception in some tellings for Shiva himself and certain permitted figures).
Sudyumna, unaware of this curse on the forest, rode in with his male companions, and all of them, without warning, were transformed into women the moment they crossed into it.
Ila's Life, and the Marriage That Produced a Dynasty
Now transformed and named Ila, the former prince wandered the forest in this new form and encountered Budha (Mercury, son of Chandra, whose own contested birth is told elsewhere in this series), who fell in love with Ila and married her, the two living together and, in this period of Ila's life as a woman, conceiving a son together, Pururavas, who would go on to found the Chandravamsha, the Lunar Dynasty.
Petitioning for restoration
Sudyumna's father Manu and his priests, aware of the transformation, sought a way to restore him, and approached the sage Vasishtha for help. Vasishtha performed a ritual appealing to Shiva directly, and Shiva, unable to fully revoke the curse he had set for Parvati's sake but willing to soften it, granted a compromise: Sudyumna would live as a man for one month and as Ila, a woman, for the alternate month, cycling between the two forms indefinitely rather than being restored to a single fixed state.
Two lines from one person
During his months as Sudyumna, the male form went on to father three sons of his own, who became progenitors within the Suryavamsha, the Solar Dynasty, while during the months as Ila, the union with Budha had already produced Pururavas, founder of the Lunar Dynasty - meaning this single figure, cycling between two forms, is genealogically the root of both of the two great royal lineages the entire Puranic and epic tradition organises its kings around, the same Solar line that eventually produces Rama and the Lunar line that eventually produces the Pandavas and Kauravas.
Why This Story Sits at the Root of the Whole Genealogy
This episode is worth reading primarily for its structural position rather than as an isolated narrative: nearly every royal figure named across the Ramayana and Mahabharata belongs to one of these two dynasties, and the Puranas trace both back to this single point of shared origin. Reading Ila's story is, in effect, reading the hinge on which the entire genealogical architecture of Puranic itihasa turns.
How different texts handle the cyclical compromise
Some Puranic sources present the alternating month structure as continuing for the remainder of Sudyumna's life, while others describe a further boon eventually granting full, permanent restoration to male form later on; the texts are not fully uniform on how the arrangement resolved in the long term, which is worth stating plainly rather than picking one version and presenting it as the only account.
A story handled with unusual narrative matter-of-factness
What stands out reading this story today is how the Puranas treat the transformation itself, and Ila's lived experience across both forms, without treating either state as lesser or as a punishment to be ashamed of - the curse is presented as an inconvenient structural obstacle to be worked around through negotiation with Shiva rather than a moral failing requiring atonement, and Ila's period as a woman produces one of the tradition's two foundational royal lines with the same narrative weight given to Sudyumna's own sons in his male form.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Sudyumna become Ila?+
While hunting with companions, Sudyumna entered a forest under a curse set by Shiva at Parvati's request, which transformed any male entering it into a female immediately, without warning. He became Ila as a result of simply crossing into this forest.
What compromise did Shiva grant to restore Sudyumna?+
Unable to fully revoke the curse he had set for Parvati's privacy, Shiva granted Sudyumna a cyclical compromise: he would live as a man for one month and as Ila, a woman, for the alternate month, continuing this pattern rather than being restored permanently to a single form, according to most tellings.
Why is Ila's story considered the origin of both the Solar and Lunar dynasties?+
During the months as the male Sudyumna, three sons were fathered who became progenitors within the Solar Dynasty. During the months as the female Ila, marriage to Budha produced Pururavas, founder of the Lunar Dynasty - meaning this single figure, in two forms, is the shared genealogical root of both of the two great royal lines the Puranic and epic tradition organises its kings around.
About the author
Anjali Mehta · Editor, M.A. Religious Studies
Anjali is the managing editor for Vandnaa and oversees the festival and vrat coverage. She holds an M.A. in Religious Studies and reviews every published article for accuracy, accessibility, and tradition-fidelity.
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