Nala stood before the ocean, it's choppy waves falling over to his feet every few seconds with a rhythm that soothed his mind. He was definitely going to create some history by building a bridge over water. But he didn't feel any apprehension. Everybody knew him as a fun loving, and rather childish Vanara. But he wasn't that. Or, he wasn't just that. He could also be very helpful in dire situations like these. But this was the first time he was required to do something of so much importance. He loved it. He loved the feeling of having to do something that would remain forever. He felt like his creation would always remain. If not physically, it certainly would in the hearts of people.
"Hey, Nal! Take this one! Start it off!" cried his friend, Neela, excitedly, handing him a large flat rock. Nala took a deep breath and looked into the frothy ocean waves. It was the start of something big. Good or bad, it was going to be something massive, and all he could hope was for his powers to be used for good, for establishment of righteousness, of Dharma, and for annihilation of evil.
He placed the rock on the surface of the water, and hoped that it would float. The dark grey coloured rock just tried to sink into the water slowly, but never succeeded. It was floating. Nala sighed, relieved, and all the Vanaras around started to jump and run around, exhilarated.
Rama walked over to Nala, who was smiling at the first step of success, and he beamed at him delightedly. The rock was floating indeed. Not that Rama didn't believe Varuna and Nala himself, but he still wanted to just see it, just to make sure.
"You seem so matured all of a sudden." said Rama, staring into the vast ocean that they were certainly about to cross, and the said person, Nala, turned to Rama.
"Um... Yeah. I just never needed to be like this ever before, you know. We never really had a situation as grim as this one." he said. Rama nodded thoughtfully. "After all, change is the only constant, isn't it?"
"It truly is." said Rama, looking somewhat nostalgic. "You remind me a little of my little brother." he said, smiling. Nala looked perplexed. He was NOTHING like Lakshmana. Nothing like him at all. Rama noticed that and chuckled, shaking his head. "Not Lakshman. I have three younger brothers in total, and the youngest one, Shatrughna, Lakshman's twin, is the one I'm talking about. I find a number of similarities in the two of you! It's quite...fascinating, I suppose!"
Nala looked very curious to know about and see Lakshmana's twin, whom Rama supposed was more similar to Nala than he was to his actual twin. Strange.
★★★
Out of pure bhakti, Hanuman had written the name of his Lord on the rocks that he passed on to other Vanaras. The name of Rama was and still is considered as one of the strongest powers in the three worlds. It didn't matter if a demon, Vibhishana, said it, or if his own little brother, Lakshmana did. It worked for everybody. For everybody whose devotion was pure. For his Sita, for Hanuman, for Bharata, for Shatrughna, for Kaushalya and everybody else who loved him like their own.
And this time, it looked like it was going to work for battalions and battalions of monkey soldiers. Angada looked like he wanted to test the bridge a little bit. He walked over to one of the edges of the bridge and jumped up and down on it, simply out of complete curiosity to know that it was strong enough to carry those many soldiers indeed. It was, because he was jumping up and down on it and it didn't even loosen a little. He grinned widely. They were ever so close to rescuing Maa Sita! They were ever so close to playing a part in the establishment of Dharma.
★★★
The chain of monkeys kept growing longer and longer, and Nala kept dropping the rocks in the ocean water, as they floated obediently. The monkeys were all overjoyed. They were creating history for sure. Who would have thought that a bunch of monkeys would build a bridge over the Indian Ocean? Ravana certainly was not prepared for something as unlikely as that. But, well, he had invited trouble by not getting back on the right path even after the complete mishap that had happened at Lanka, the havoc that had been wreaked by Hanuman.
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The Inseparable Princes
التاريخيةRamayana. An Indian epic that has lived through the centuries and has only grown even more in the process. An epic that shows ideal characters, many of whom we worship, and other characters from whom we learn what we shouldn't be at any cost. But...
