Rama Setu- Hindu LocationLocation · Landmark"The Bridge of Rama"
Also known as: Adam's Bridge, Nala Setu, Setu Bandha, रामसेतु, and Rāma Setu
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Description
When Rama prepared to dry the ocean with divine weapons in his fury, the ocean god Samudra appeared and offered a bargain: he would support whatever the vanaras built upon his waters. Millions of monkeys hauled boulders inscribed with Rama's name — and the stones floated, forming a bridge to Lanka.
Mythology & Lore
Samudra's Bargain
After Hanuman confirmed Sita's captivity in Lanka, Rama assembled his vanara army on the southern shore at Rameshwaram and faced the ocean. He fasted on the shore for three days, asking the sea for passage. Samudra did not respond. Rama took up his celestial bow, preparing to dry the ocean with divine weapons. Samudra appeared in person and explained that his nature did not permit him to simply part. But among the vanaras was Nala, son of the divine architect Vishvakarma, who had inherited his father's gifts. Samudra promised to support whatever Nala built upon his waters.
The Bridge
Nala directed the work while millions of vanaras hauled boulders and uprooted trees. The stones, placed on the water by Nala's design, floated rather than sank, held up by Samudra's promise. A devotional tradition preserved in the Skanda Purana's Setu Mahatmya adds that the vanaras inscribed "Rama" on each stone, and it was the name that made them float. The bridge was completed in five days, spanning the full distance to Lanka, and Rama's army crossed.
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