Devalok
From the epics · 1 telling · Pan-India

Nala, son of Vishvakarma, builds the bridge to Lanka

Who is in it

Texts: Valmiki Ramayana

The story, beat by beat

  1. The Ocean tells Rama to call Nala, son of Vishvakarma.
  2. Nala says his mother won a boon that her son would equal his father in skill.
  3. The monkeys bring trees and rocks and Nala lays the bridge.

craft inheritance bridge

How it is told, place by place

Base telling · Primary text (translation)

Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda 22 (Griffith)

Pan-India All traditions

The lord of the sea names Nala, a monkey chief born of Vishvakarma, as the one to build the bridge. Nala confirms that Vishvakarma promised his mother a son equal to himself in skill, and directs the monkeys, who drag trees to the sea; the host crosses on the bridge he planned.

The Ramayan of Valmiki, tr. R. T. H. Griffith (1870-74) § 6.22

Sources: The Ramayan of Valmiki, tr. R. T. H. Griffith (1870-74)

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