With downcast eyes and a gentle voice, the beautiful lady, though embarrassed, softly answered, “He is the son of Chandra,” and then withdrew within. Soma, radiant with joy, embraced his son, named him Budha, and returned to his own abode. Brahma departed for his own realm, and all the gods, led by Indra, as well as the assembled people, dispersed as they had come. Thus, the birth of Budha from Soma in the sacred land of Kurukshetra was recounted, as once narrated by Vyasa, the son of Satyavati. Suta continued: From Ila, Pururavas was born—let me tell you his story. Pururavas, the son of Budha, was exceedingly righteous, devoted to sacrifice and generous in giving. There was a king named Sudyumna, truthful and self-controlled, who once mounted a fine Sindhu horse and went hunting in the forest. With a few ministers, adorned with splendid earrings, he carried a horn bow and a wondrous collection of arrows. He roamed through the forest, skillfully striking deer, hares, boars, rhinoceroses, and wild oxen. He slew sarabhas, buffaloes, sambars, and wild fowl, and after hunting sacrificial animals, the king entered a grove of youths. This divine place lay beneath Mount Meru, adorned with mandara trees, draped with asoka creepers, and fragrant with bakula flowers. It was sheltered by sal, palmyra, tamala, champaka, jackfruit, mango, nipa, and madhuka trees, all covered by a pavilion of madhavi vines. The forest was further beautified by pomegranate, coconut, and banana clusters, entwined with jasmine, malati, and kund creepers. Swans and cranes filled the area, their calls mingling with the songs of kicaka birds and the hum of bees, making the forest a place of every delight. King Sudyumna, delighted and surrounded by his attendants, admired the trees in full bloom, accompanied by the melodious songs of cuckoos. But as he entered this enchanting place, a sudden transformation overtook him: the royal sage became a woman, and even his horse turned into a mare. The king was overcome with anxiety. Distressed, Sudyumna wondered repeatedly, “What is this?” Shamed and sorrowful, he questioned: “What shall I do? How can I return home, bound in a woman’s form? How can I rule the kingdom? By whom have I been deceived?” The sages listening to Suta exclaimed, “What you have told is astonishing, O Lomaharshana! Sudyumna, a king equal to the gods, has obtained womanhood. What is the cause of this? Tell us in detail what happened in that enchanting forest. What did the king do? Speak fully, O virtuous one.” Suta explained: Once, the sages led by Sanaka, wishing to see the Lord of the Mountain, arrived, their presence illuminating the quarters. At that very moment, Shankara was there, surrounded by women, absorbed in playful delight with his beloved Shiva, who was unclothed and desirous. The lovely goddess, enjoying her husband’s lap, saw the sages and felt great shame at her nakedness. Rising from her husband’s lap, she took a garment and covered herself, standing trembling and proud, filled with modesty. The sages, witnessing the intimacy between Shiva and Parvati, quickly turned away and went to the hermitage of Nara-Narayana. Seeing his bashful and desirous consort, the blessed Hara spoke gently: “Why are you overcome by shame? I will make you happy. From this day onward, O beautiful-faced one, any man who, out of delusion, enters this forest shall become a woman.” Because of this curse, those who know of it avoid the forest, which is now regarded as full of faults. But Sudyumna, unaware, entered with his ministers, and thus they all became women—there was no doubt. Filled with anxiety, the royal sage did not return home out of shame, but wandered about the forest region. In her state of womanhood, the great-souled Sudyumna became known as Ila. As she wandered there, Budha, the youthful son of Soma, arrived. Seeing Ila, surrounded by women, lovely and charming, skilled in the arts of gesture and expression, the blessed Budha desired her. Ila too wished for Budha as her husband, and thus, out of mutual love, a union was formed between them. From Ila, Budha begot a son named Pururavas, the foremost of emperors. While residing in the forest, troubled in mind, Ila gave birth to her son and remembered her family preceptor, the eminent sage Vasishtha. Filled with compassion upon seeing Sudyumna’s plight, Vasishtha sought to please Mahadeva Shankara, the benefactor of the world. The blessed Lord, satisfied, granted the desired boon; Vasishtha requested that the beloved king regain his manhood. Shankara, with nectar-like words, declared, “For one month the king shall be a man, for one month a woman.” Thus, having received the boon, Sudyumna returned home and, with Vasishtha’s favor, ruled his kingdom righteously. When in the form of a woman, he stayed in the palace; as a man, he governed the realm. Yet the people, troubled by this alternating nature, did not rejoice in their king. In time, when his son Pururavas reached youth, Sudyumna entrusted him with the throne and departed for the forest, thus completing the tale of Sudyumna and the birth of Pururavas.