After giving instructions to Rama, the Sea-god greeted him and disappeared. Rama instructed everyone to get into action quickly. Jambavan called both the monkey brothers–Nala and Neela. Nala and Neela were the descendants of divine architect Vishwakarma. Jambavan instructed them to construct a bridge over the ocean after remembering the divinity and greatness of Rama. The brothers laid out a plan for the construction of a bridge that would float in the ocean. All the monkeys went inside the surrounding forests and uprooted large trees, collected bamboos, huge rocks, and a lot of sand, and brought them to Nala and Neela. The Nala and Neela suggested that if they wrote Rama’s name on them the heavy boulders would not sink but float in the ocean. All the monkeys began writing Rama’s name on each collected material and putting it in the ocean for the construction of the bridge. The bridge was soon constructed. The gods happily showered flowers from the heavens. Following Sugreeva’s instructions, Rama and Laxman climbed onto Hanuman’s and Angad’s shoulders respectively. The two brave monkeys carried them across the bridge. Then, the huge army of monkeys followed. Some jumped, some screamed, while others danced as they marched on bravely towards Lanka.
THE BRIDGE
