Manu was the son of Surya and Sandhya. Manu was married to Shradda. They organized a putrakamesti yagam under Sage Vasishta. The queen prayed to get a girl child. Consequently a girl was born to them. She was named Ila. But the King requested Vasishta to transform her into a boy. Then he was named Sadyumna. One day Sudyumna had gone on a hunting excursion. Riding the horse with his ministers, Sudyumna reached a forest at the foothills of Meru Mountain. The forest was the nuptial abode of Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati. As soon as Sudyumna and his companions entered the forests, they all, even horses, got converted into females. This happened because of an earlier event: ‘Once, Mata Parvati was sitting naked in the lap of Lord Shiva when suddenly some great sages arrived there to have a sight of Lord. Mata Parvati sank with shyness and ran to don some cloth. When the sages saw that Gauri-Lord Shiva were enjoying intimacy, they moved at once to the hermitage of Nar-Narayana. Right at that moment, in order to please Mata Parvati, Lord Shiv said: ‘Except me, any man who enters here, shall become a women.’ It was because of these words of Lord Shiva, that Sudyumna and his companions were transformed into females. While Sudyumna was roaming as woman, Budh, the son of Chandra, fell in love with her and they agreed to get married. From their marriage, a son, Pururava was born. Sudyumna, in a female form, prayed Lord Shiva to free him from woman incarnation. Lord Shiva blessed Sudyumna that he would be a man for a month and a woman for another. Thus this cycle would continue life long. Thereafter Sudyumna returned to the kingdom and began to rule it religiously. He got three sons in due course, Utkal, Gaya and Vimal. In the twilight of his life, Sudyumna gave his kingdom to Pururava and he took exile.
Story of Sadyumna
August 21, 2008
Kukshi & Vikukshi
July 2, 2008
Kukshi was the son of Ikshvaku. His son was Vikukshi. Once when King Kukshi was performing a sacrifice, Vikukshi was sent to bring the sacrificial meat. While hunting, Vikukshi was hungry and ended up eating a part of the meat destined for the sacrifice. This was an act of sacrilege. Sage Vashistha made the King banish him from the Kingdom. He also earned the title Sashada (hare eater) (Please note that in the Bhagavata Purana it is stated that Vikukshi was the son of Ikshvaku)
Kings of India 