March 28 - Sargas 86,87,88, 89 and 90 of Uttara Kanda.
Another story of King Ila and his emancipation through Ashvamedha.
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With Indra having disappeared, there was a crisis in creation. All life became disorganized and the elements seemed to be vexed. Indra was languishing comatose in the netherworld, whereas all life-forms were threatened with destruction. Naturally, the gods, who owed allegiance to Indra as the lord of gods, went with Brihaspati and other sages and found where Indra was. They placed him as their leader and performed the Ashvamedha, as enjoined by Mahavishnu.
At last, Indra was restored to his original glory and self-confidence. But the presiding deity of punishment for Brahmahatya, of which Indra was the culprit, was not easy to get rid of. " Where should I go now!", asked that deity. The gods advised that deity to portion herself into four parts. One part would dwell in rivers, and show her power when they were in spate during the monsoons. That would tame the dwellers on river banks to behave themselves.
The second quarter would repose permanently in the earth. The third quarter would go and live in women during their menses, as a reminder that they should not become too proud of their beauty. The fourth would look out for those who cheated or slew brahmins, and torment them.
This seemed a reasonable distribution. Lord Indra also was emancipated through Ashvamedha. Thus concluded Lakshmana, exhorting Sri Rama to perform Ashvamedha.
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Sri Rama laughed, and said he also had a story on Ashvamedha.
Kardamaprajapati (one of the Brahmas) had a son by the name of Ila. He was a prosperous king of Bahlika kingdom.
Ila was a good ruler. Once he went on a hunting mission into the forests with a large army. He hunted indiscriminately and killed countless wild animals. He was still not satisfied. They ventured then into the region known for the birth of Karttikeya. There, Lord Shiva was sporting in the waters with Parvati, having assumed the form of a female companion of Devi! In fact, he had made all creatures around female.
Ila and his army were astonished to find only female humans and creatures in that area. Further, they discovered that they had also become females! Ila realized this was some kind of a punishment and also found out it was the mischief or curse of Lord Shiva. When he supplicated to Shiva, Shiva laughed and said, "ask for any boon except to be made male again!"
Ila was in great distress and then went to Devi Parvati. She said, smilingly, that being the half part of Shiva herself, she could give him half a boon. Finally, it was ordained that Ila would be a woman for a month and a man for the next month and so on, without any memory of the previous alternate state of having been a woman or man. That way Ila now became a beautiful woman.
When Ila and his army, all as females were roaming, they drifted into another region and came upon a lake, Lord Budha, son of Chandra, was meditating there. The women had a great time sporting in the lake and stirred up enough noise to catch his attention. Budha saw Ila, a almost beautiful woman, and fell in love. Budha approached Ila, who had also been smitten by Budha, saying she was one of unprecedented charm and beauty. Budha offered a safe haven for all her attendants around his ashrama, and offered his love to Ila. She also agreed. Thereafter, they lived as man and wife. A whole month passed. When Budha had gone to the lake for his morning prayer, Ila work up from bed as a man! He went to Budha and said, "Oh Sir, I had come here with my army, but find now everyone gone. Please help me find them!" Ila had lost all memory of his having been a woman for the past one month and having sported with Budha.
Budha consoled the king, saying that there was a strange rain of stones that had killed all his attendants. He offered King Ila shelter. But King Ila wanted to return to his kingdom. Budha knew who Ila was. He told him, "Oh king, spend one year here and then leave. I will take care of you. All will end well."
Ila went through his male/female time cycle the next few months, sporting as Budha's wife whenever he was a woman. Eventually, after nine months, Ila delivered a wonderful boy who became later the king Pururavas.
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So did Ila ever get back his permanent male form? Sri Rama answered the curiosity of Lakshmana and Bharata.
During one of his male phases, Ila was given the opportunity by Budha to serve great rishis who came there at Budha's request, including Chyavana and Durvasa. Budha explained the strange situation that Ila had fallen into. Soon Kardamaprajapati himself arrived. Pulastya, Kratu and others accompanied him.
All the sages advised that Ila should perform the Ashvamedha and propitiate Lord Shiva and beg him to free him from his strange cyclic gender changes. Ila followed their advice, performed Ashvamedha, and pleased Lord Shiva, who restored him to manhood and kingship.
Ila gave up the Bahlika kingdom and established a new kingdom called Pratishthana at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. He ruled well and eventually, on giving up his body, reached Brahmaloka.
Sri Rama concluded that in this story one could see how Ashvamedha was powerful enough to remedy as bad a situation as Ila's.
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॥ श्रीरामजयम् ॥
