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The Lunar Dynasty

© Harsh Nevatia

Brahma had produced seven sons using his mental powers. These were great sages. Atri was one of them. He married Anasuya, who conceived a son named Som. Som means moon in Hindi and the lunar dynasty is named after this son of sage Atri.

Atri was very proud of his son, Som. He put Som in-charge of the night sky and got him married to several of Daksha's daughters. But Som was vain and had a roving eye as well. Sage Brihaspati, who was the preceptor of the demi-Gods, admonished Som and instructed him to change his ways. Som did not take this reprimand in the right spirit and abducted Brihaspati's wife, Tara, in revenge. Brihaspati asked Som to return Tara several times, but to no avail. Ultimately a war broke out between the demi-Gods and Som, with the demons assisting Som. Lord Shiva assisted the demi-Gods and let loose a divine weapon of great power. To counteract this, Som let loose another divine weapon. Brahma saw that the end of the world was imminent. He intervened and asked Shiva and Som to recall their weapons. He also ordered Som to return Tara to Brihaspati. Som did so, but in the meanwhile Tara had already given birth to Som's son Buddh. Buddh later married Ila, whose life story is extraordinary to say the least.

Vaivasvata Manu was the son of Surya and Samjna. He did not have any child initially, so he organised a Putrayeshti Yagya (a sacrifice with the objective of obtaining a son) under the auspices of his family teacher Vasishtha who was the youngest of Brahma's seven sons. But right amidst the proceedings, his wife prayed for a female child. The Brahmins made offerings as per her wish. Consequently a girl was born to them instead of a boy. In some versions it is said that Vasishtha erred in chanting the mantras and hence a girl was born. She was named Ila. But the King requested Vasishtha to transform her into a boy. Vasishtha did the same, and the boy thus obtained was named as Sudyumna. Ikshavaku and the other sons of Vaivasvata Manu were born later.

One day Sudyumna had gone on a hunting excursion. He reached the forest, Sharavan, at the foothills of Meru Mountain. The forest was the nuptial abode of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati. As soon as Sudyumna and his companions entered the forests, they all, even horses, got converted into females. This was as per the decree of Lord Shiva. There is an interesting incident associated with this decree. Once, Parvati, the consort of Shiva, was sitting naked in his lap when suddenly some great sages arrived there to have a sight of the Lord. Parvati sank with shyness and ran to don some cloth. When the sages saw that Shiva and Parvati were enjoying an intimate moment, they moved out at once. Right at that moment, in order to please Parvati, Lord Shiva said, "Except me, any male who enters here, shall become a female." It was because of these words of Lord Shiva, that Sudyumna became Ila once again. Buddh, the son of Som, saw Ila and fell in love with her and they agreed to get married. From their marriage, a son, Pururava was born.

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