Parva 1 Chapter 10: aila-utpatti - Emergence of lady ila

There are nine sons to vaivasvata manu who match their father in every respect... their names are: ikṣvāku, nābhāga, dhṛṣṇu, śaryāti, nariṣyanta, prāṁśu, while nābhāga-ariṣṭa is the seventh, and karūṣa is the eighth, and pṛṣadhra is ninth one... earlier when prajāpati vaivasvata-manu was issueless, he performed a Vedic-ritual called putra-kāmeṣṭi aiming at gods mitra and varuṇa, to beget children, and he got the above sons... anutpanneṣu navasu putreṣu eteṣu bhārata | tasyāṁ ca vartamānāyām iṣṭyāṁ bharatasattama ||1-10-4 mitra varuṇayoḥ aṁśe muniḥ āhutim ājuhot | āhutyāṁ hūyamānāyāṁ deva-gandharva-mānuṣāḥ ||1-10- 5 tuṣṭiṁ tu paramāṁ jagmuḥ munayaḥ ca tapodhanāḥ | aho asya tapaso vīryam aho asya shrutam adbhutam || 1-10- 6 When these nine sons have not emerged and when the Vedic ritual is going on, then vaivasvata-manu gave offertories to the gods, mitra and varuṇa, through the sages conducting that ritual, in a perfect manner... and with those offertories all the gods, gandharva-s, humans, and sages are perfectly satisfied, and praised manu, "oho, excellent are the ascesis, determinedness, and learnedness of this vaivasvata manu..." tatra divya ambara dharā divya ābharaṇa bhūṣitā | divya saṁhananā caiva ilā jajṣa iti śrutiḥ || 1-10-7 There arose a curvaceous girl, named lady ila, from that infallible Vedic-ritual, clad in divine raiment and decked with celestial ornaments... thus we hear... samhananam= one whose limbs are perfectly arranged, a curvaceous girl. tām ila iti eva ha uvāca manuḥ daṇḍa-dharaḥ tadā | anugacchasva māṁ bhadre tam ilā prati-uvāca ha | dharma-yuktam idaṁ vākyaṁ putra-kāmaṁ prajāpatim ||1-10-8 And the sceptre-wielding vaivasvata manu, calling that girl as lady ila, has asked her, 'oh, providential girl, be pleased to follow me...' But, that girl ila conscientiously replied him who is longing for sons at that time... ila-uvāca: lady ila said: mitrā-varuṇayoḥ aṁśe jātā asmi vadatāṁ vara | tayoḥ sakāśaṁ yāsyāmi na māṁ dharmo hato avadhīt ||1-10-9 "I resulted from the quiddities of mitra and varuṇa, oh, ablest debater, hence it will be apt of me to follow them... let me not ruin my duty..." So said lady ila to vaivasvata manu. sā evam uktvā manuṁ devaṁ mitrā-varuṇayoḥ ilā | gatva antikaṁ varārohā prāṣjaliḥ vākyam abravīt ||1-10-10 On saying so to vaivasvata-manu, ila went to mitra and varuṇa and that beauty humbly said this to them... ila uvāca- lady ila said: aṁśe asmi yuvayoḥ jātā devau kiṁ karavāṇi vām | manunā ca aham uktā vai anugacchasva mām iti ||1-10-11 "I for myself am a formation from your quintessence, but oh, gods, he is asking me to follow him... whom should I follow now..." lady ila asked them in this way. tāṁ tathā vādinīṁ sādhvīm ilāṁ dharma-parāyaṇām | mitraḥ ca varuṇaḥ ca ubhau ūcatuḥ yat nibodha tat ||1-10-12 Knowing her standpoint mitra and varuṇa then spoke to that august girl who is righteously debating her problem... mitra-varuṇau ūcatuḥ- mitra-varuṇa said to her: anena tava dharmeṇa praśrayeṇa damena ca | satyena caiva suśroṇi prītau svo varavarṇini || 1-10-13 āvayoḥ tvaṁ mahābhāge khyātiṁ kanya iti yāsyasi | manoḥ vaṁśa-dharaḥ putraḥ tvam eva ca bhaviṣyasi |1-10-14 sudyumna iti vikhyātaḥ triṣu lokeṣu shobhane | jagat-priyo dharma-śīlo manoḥ vaṁśa-vivardhanaḥ || 1-10-15 "By this polite way of your seeking the permission, your self-righteousness, self-control, and truthfulness are established... oh, blessed girl, you will get renown as our child... you as the male descendant of manu will become the primogenitor of manu's lineage... and, oh, promising girl, you in your male form will be renowned as sudyumna in all the three worlds, achieving the regard of the world, righteousness, and the progenitorship of manu's lineage..." So said mitra and varuṇa to lady ila. nivṛttā sā tu tat śrutvā gacchantī pitur antikam | budhena antaram āsādya maithunāya upamantritā | 1-10-16 Withdrawing from their presence on hearing the advice of mitra-varuṇa that girl ila started towards her father's presence, i.e., to vaivasvata manu... but on her way back, budha, the Jupiter, had a rendezvous with her as her swain... soma putrāt budhāt rājan tasyāṁ jajṣe purūravāḥ | janayitvā sutaṁ sā tam ilā sudyumnatāṁ gatā ||1-10-17 Then purūrava took birth from her through budha, the son of soma... oh, king, and on delivering purūrava thus, she transfigured herself into the male form of sudyumna... sudyumnasya tu dāyādāḥ trayaḥ parama-dhārmikāḥ | utkalaḥ ca gayaḥ caiva vinata-aśvaḥ ca bhārata || 1-10-18 utkalasya utkalā rājan vinata-ashvasya paścimā | dik pūrvā bharataśreṣṭha gayasya tu gayā purī | 1-10-19 There are three highly righteous children to sudyumna, i.e., lady ila in male form, and they are: utkala, gaya, and vinata-ashva... and oh, king, vaivasvata manu gave east of utkala province to his son utkala, and west of utkala to vinata-ashva, while the city of gaya is given to his third son gaya... The province utkala is always identified with the present day Orissa plus Bihar. praviṣṭe tu manau tāta divākaram ariṁdama | daśadhā tat dadhat kshatram akarot pṛthivīm imām | 1-10-20 | When vaivasvata manu returned to Sun after his reign on earth, he made his kingdom in to ten divisions, and made his other sons to rule those divisions... yūpāṅkitā vasumatī yasya iyaṁ sa vana-ākarā | ikṣvākuḥ jyeṣṭha dāyādo madhya-desham avāptavān ||1-10-21 Wherever earth is adorned with Vedic-sacrificial posts, that entire central province has come under the rule of ikśvāku, the first son vaivasvata manu, along with its forests and mines... kanyā bhāvāt ca sudyumno na enaṁ guṇam avāptavān | vasiṣṭha vacanāt ca āsīt pratiṣṭhāne mahātmanaḥ || 1-10-22 pratiṣṭhā dharmarājasya sudyumnasya kurūdvaha | Because sudyumna alternated between maleness and femaleness, he has become ineligible for kingship... even then he is given the province of pratiṣṭāna-pura upon the advice of vasiṣṭha... pratiṣṭāna-pura is identified with present day jhānsi-prayāg area. tat purūravase prādāt rājyaṁ prāpya mahāyaśāḥ ||1-10-23 sudyumnaḥ kārayāmāsa pratiṣṭhāne nṝpa-kriyām | Having ruled pratiṣṭāna-puram for some time, sudyumna relinquished it in favour of his / her son purūrava... utkalasya trayaḥ putrāḥ triṣu lokeṣu viśrutāḥ | dhṛṣṭakaḥ ca ambarīṣaḥ ca daṇḍaḥ ca iti sutāḥ trayaḥ || 1-10-24 utkala begot three sons who are renowned in all the three worlds, and those three are: dhṛṣṭaka, ambarīṣa, and daṇḍa... Pt. kinjawaḍekar notes in citraśāla edn - idam padya-artham kvacit nāsti. yaḥ cakāra mahātmā vai daṇḍaka-araṇyam uttamam | vanaṁ tat loka-vikhyātaṁ tāpasānām anuttamam || 1-10-25 tatra praviṣṭa mātrastu naraḥ pāpāt pramucyate | daṇḍa developed world-renowned daṇḍaka forest as a best forest and a heavenly abode of sages and saints, where one gets rid of his sin just by entering it... sudyumnaḥ ca divaṁ yāta ailam utpādya bhārata ||1-10-26 mānaveyo mahārāja strī-puṁsoḥ lakṣaṇaiḥ yutaḥ | dhṛtavān ya ila iti eva sudyumnaḥ ca ati-viśrutaḥ ||1-10-27 Thus, she / he who as lady ila gave birth to purūrava in her maidenhood, and as sudyumna sired three sons in his manhood, became renowned in this world, because both femaleness and maleness altered in a single person, and later went to heaven... nāriṣyataḥ śakāḥ putrā nābhāgasya tu bhārata | ambarīṣo abhavat putraḥ pārthiva-rṣabha-sattamaḥ ||1-10-28 And oh, king, vaivasvata manu's fifth son nāriṣyata begot a son named shaka, while vaivasvata manu's second son nābhāga begot a son named ambarīṣa, who in later time became an all-powerful emperor... dhṛṣṇoḥ tu dhārṣṭakaṁ kṣatraṁ raṇa-dṛṣṭaṁ [raṇe-adṛṣṭaṁ] babhūva ha | karūṣasya tu kārūṣāḥ kṣatriyā yuddha-durmadāḥ ||1-10-29 sahasraṁ ksatriya-gaṇo vikrāntaḥ sambabhūva ha | vaivasvata manu's third son dhṛṣṇu begot dhārṣṭaka, who is an unassailable warrior, and vaivasvata manu's eighth son karūṣa begot kārūṣā, who resulted as an unsurpassable kshatriya... from them hosts of valiant kshatriya-s have come down... nābhāga-ariṣṭa putrāḥ ca kṣatriyā vaiśyatāṁ gatāḥ || 1-10-30 The progeny of vaivasvata manu's seventh son nābhāga-ariṣṭa have abandoned kshatriyahood and took up vaishya's vocation... i.e., trade and commerce... prāṁśoḥ eko abhavat putraḥ śaryātiḥ iti viśrutaḥ | nariṣyatasya dāyādo rājā daṇḍadharo damaḥ | vaivasvata manu's sixth son prāṁśu begot only one son who is renowned by his named śaryāti, while vaivasvata manu's fifth son nariṣyata begot a son who became the sceptre-wielding king named dama... śaryāteḥ mithunaṁ tu āsīt ānarto nāma viśrutaḥ || 1-10-31 putraḥ kanyā sukanya ākhyā yā patnī cyavanasya ha | ānartasya tu dāyādo revo nāma mahādyutiḥ ||1-10-32 ānarta viṣayaḥ ca āsīt purī ca asya kuśasthalī | vaivasvata manu's fourth son śaryāti begot a couple of children, of whom ānarta is the boy, while the other is a girl named sukanya, who later became the wife of cyavana-maharṣi... that boy ānarta later became the father of a highly resplendent person named reva... their province is ānarta-deśa, and their capital is kusha-sthali... ānarta-deśa is identifiable with present day dwārka, and kusha-sthali with dwāraka-puri. revasya raivataḥ putraḥ kakudmī nāma dhārmikaḥ ||1-10-33 jyeṣṭhaḥ putraḥ tasya āsīt rājyaṁ prāpya kuśasthalīm | ānarta's son reva begot a son named raivata, who is also called as most righteous kakudmi... because he is the eldest among hundred sons of reva, this kakudmi, alias raivata, got the kingdom and ruled from the capital kusha-sthali... sa kanyā sahitaḥ śrutvā gāndharvaṁ brahmaṇo'ntike ||1-10-34 muhūrta-bhūtaṁ devasya gataṁ bahu-yugaṁ prabho | ājagāma yuva eva atha svāṁ purīṁ yādavaiḥ vṛtām ||1-10-35 On certain occassion raivata, or revata, went to the abode of brahma along with his daughter revati.... there he stayed just for a couple of hours more in the presence of brahma, fascinated to listen the music rendered by gandharvās... in this meanwhile human era has lapsed in human world, and raivata returned to his capital, now hemmed in yādava- s... but the physique of raivata has not changed retaining his youthfulness, with which he entered the abode of brahma a couple of hours back... kṛtāṁ dvāravatīṁ nāmnā bahu-dvārāṁ manoramām | bhoja-vṛṣṇi-andhakaiḥ guptāṁ vāsudeva purogamaiḥ || 1- 10-36 Now that delightful city is named as dwāra-vati because it has numerous gateways... and it is now defended by the heroes of bhoja, vṛṣṇi, andhaka clans, headed by their chief vasudeva... tataḥ saḥ raivato jṣātvā yathā tattvam ariṁdama | kanyāṁ tāṁ baladevāya su-vratāṁ nāma revatīm || 1- 10 -37 dattvā jagāma śikharaṁ meroḥ tapasi saṁsthitaḥ | Then on knowing what actually has happened, raivata gave his impeccable daughter lady revati to bala-rāma, the elder brother of Krishna, and himself repaired to the lofty heights of Mt. meru for furthering ascesis... reme rāmaḥ api dharmātmā revatyā sahitaḥ sukhī ||1-10-38 Thereupon the highly principled bala-rāma delightedly spent time with delightful lady revati... iti śrīmahābhārate khilabhāge harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi aila-utpatti varṇanaṁ nāma daśamo'dhyāyaḥ ||10 Thus, this is the tenth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the emergence of lady ila.