# इला (ilā)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/ila

इला (ilā) is a Sanskrit word meaning flow, speech, the earth, the wife of Buddha and daughter of Ikshvaku, a cow, a goddess representing worship and sacrifice. Its 21 recorded definitions are grouped into 7 contexts, among them Mythological Figure: Ilā (Child of Manu/Dakṣa, Mother of Purūravas), Other Divine/Mythological Figures Named Ilā, The Earth / Mother Earth / Ilā-vṛta (Region).

- **SLP1:** `ilA`  **IAST:** ilā  **Devanagari:** इला
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ila_%28Hinduism%29
- **Declensions:** 24 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/ila/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** इल (ila), इळा (iḻā)

## Meanings by context

### Mythological Figure: Ilā (Child of Manu/Dakṣa, Mother of Purūravas) (9 definitions)
- 1. The wife of Buddha and daughter of Ikshvaku. 2. The earth. 3. A cow. 4. Speech.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > इल (ila) ा (ilā) [Printed book page 133 ] इल (ila) ा (ilā) f. ( - ला (-lā) ) 1 The wife of BUDDHA, and daughter of IKṢVĀKU. 2 The earth. 3 A cow. 4 Speech. E. इल (ila) to send, क (ka) and टाप् (ṭāp) affixes; also इडा (iḍā). [ ID=6388 ]
- 1. The wife of Buddha. 2. Earth. 3. Cow. 4. Speech.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > इला (ilā) [Printed book page 108-b ] इला (ilā) ( ला ) ((lā)) f. The wife of Buddha; earth; cow; speech. [ ID=5777 ]
- the Earth  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > [Printed book page 918-b ] * इला (*ilā) ( ला ) ((lā)) 1. f. Idem. [ ID=44873 ]
- 1. The earth. 2. Speech. 3. A cow. 4. The wife of Budha.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > इला (ilā) [Printed book page 116-17 ] इडा ( ला ) (iḍā(lā)) f. 1. The earth; 2. speech; 3. a cow; 4. name of the wife of Budha. [ ID=5742.1 ]
- 1. The wife of Buddha and daughter of Ikshwaku. 2. The earth. 3. A cow. 4. Speech.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > इला (ilā) [Printed book page 109-b ] इला (ilā) f. ( - ला (-lā) ) 1. The wife of BUDDHA, and daughter of IKSHWAKU. 2. The earth. 3. A cow. 4. Speech. E. इल् (il) to send, क (ka) and टाप् (ṭāp) affixes; also इडा (iḍā). [ ID=6386 ]
- 1. The daughter of Manu and mother of Pururavas. 2. The wife of Budha.  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > इला (ilā) [Printed book page 327-2 ] Ilā, the daughter of Manu Vaivasvata and the mother of Purūravas.—§ 139 (Manu Vaivasvata): I, 75, 3141 (the eighth child of Manu Vaivasvata).—§ 140 (Purūravas): I, 75, 3143 (at one time the father and the mother of Purūravas).—§ 156 (Pūruvaṃś.): I, 95, 3760 (daughter of Manu and mother of Purūravas).—§ 748 b (Tārakavadhop.): XIII, 86, 4209 (presented Skanda with a great many of flowers and fruits).— § 768 b (Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva): XIII, 147, 6831 ( Manoś ca vaṃśaja Ilā Sudyumnaś ca bhaviṣyati, wife of Budha and mother of Purūravas). Cf. Sudyumna. [ ID=4612 ]
- 1. The daughter of Vaivasvata Manu. 2. A mythical figure who alternately changed between male and female forms.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Ilā (V) — the daughter of Vaivasvata Manu, born of sacrificial ritual in his Aśvamedha. Seeing her father dis- pleased at her birth, Vasiṣṭha converted her to a male by name Sudyumna. See Iḍā; again by Śiva's curse he became a woman on whom Budha begot Purūravas; after that she became again Sudyumna. Bhā. IX. 1. 16, 22; Br. III. 60. 6; Vi. IV. 1. 9-13; 6. 34. [ ID=1591 ]
- the wife of Budha and mother of Pururavas  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Ilā (VI) — the wife of Budha and mother of Purūravas. (See Ila ). Bhā. IX. 14. 15; M. 24. 9-10. [ ID=1592 ]
- sprang from the sacrifice of Vaivasvata Manu and adopted as a daughter by Mitra and Varuna  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 1-202 ] Ilā (VIII) — (Iḍā): sprang out of a sacrifice of Vaiva- svata Manu in honour of Mitra and Varuṇa; the latter two adopted her as their daughter. Vā. 85. 7. [ ID=1594 ]

### Other Divine/Mythological Figures Named Ilā (6 definitions)
- 1. Speech, earth, or cow. 2. A goddess representing worship and sacrifice. 3. A daughter of Manu or Daksha. 4. An epithet of Durga.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > इला (ilā) [Printed book page 073 ] इला (ilā) f. = इड् (iḍ) + speech, earth, cow; N. of a goddess (personif. of worship and sacrifice), a daughter of Manu or Dakṣa, E. of Durgā. [ ID=4899 ]
- one of the wives of Rudra  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Ilā (II) — one of the wives of Rudra. Bhā. III. 12. 13. [ ID=1588 ]
- the daughter of Vayu and queen of Dhruva, whose son was Utkala  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Ilā (III) — the daughter of Vāyu and one of the queens of Dhruva; her son was Utkala. Bhā. IV. 10. 2. [ ID=1589 ]
- one of Kashyapa's wives  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Ilā (IV) — one of Kaśyapa's wives. Bhā. VI. 6. 25, 28; Vā. 1. 141. [ ID=1590 ]
- one of Vasudeva's wives and mother of Uruvalka and other sons  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Ilā (VII) — one of Vasudeva's wives. Mother of Uru- valka and other sons. Bhā. IX. 24. 45 & 49. [ ID=1593 ]
- the wife of Tapas in the Vishvashrij sacrifice  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Ilā (IX) — the wife of Tapas in the Viśvaśṛj sacrifice. Vā. 2. 6. [ ID=1595 ]

### The Earth / Mother Earth / Ilā-vṛta (Region) (2 definitions)
- the earth  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the earth, &c. [ ID=29403 ]
- 1. Mother Earth. 2. A devotee who waited on Hari. 3. Saved by Hari in the form of Matsya.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > इला (ilā) [Printed book page 1-201 ] Ilā (I) — Mother Earth; worshipped for gain of bodily strength. 1 Waited on Hari; 2 saved by Hari in the form of Matsya. 3 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. II. 3. 5.] [ Footnote: 2) Ib. X. 39. 55.] [ Footnote: 3) Ib. XI. 4. 18.] [ ID=1587 ]

### Cross-reference to Iḍā (1 definition)
- See ida.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > See इडा (iḍā). [ ID=29404 ]

### Flow / Libation / Offering / Ritual Personification (1 definition)
- flow  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 168,2] इला (ilā) f. (closely connected with इडा (iḍā) and इरा (irā), qq.v. ) flow [ ID=29401 ]

### Mythological Figure: Ilā-vṛta (Son of Agnīdhra) (1 definition)
- flow, speech, the earth  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > इला (ilā) [Printed book page 0142-a ] इला (ilā) ilā, f. flow, speech, the earth, &c. see iḍā. —Ilā-gola, am, n. the earth, the globe. —Ilā- tala, am, n. the fourth place in the circle of the zodiac; the surface of the earth. —Ilā-dadha, as, m., N. of a certain sacrifice. —Ilān-da, am, n. ‘granting refreshment or food,’ N. of a ceremony or of a verse; N. of a Sāman. —Ilā-vṛta, as, m., N. of a son of Agnīdhra, who received the Varṣa ilā-vṛta as his kingdom; ( am ), n. one of the nine Varṣas or divisions of the known world, comprehending the highest and most central part of the old continent. [ ID=9976 ]

### Speech / Goddess of Speech (1 definition)
- speech  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > speech [ ID=29402 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872); Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; The Purana Index; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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