Bridge of Rama is the fifth installment of a six-part series of novels written by Ashok Banker

Ashok Banker

Ashok Kumar Banker is a novelist and short story writer living in Mumbai, India. He has written professionally since his early teens, and has worked as a door-to-door surveyor for market research firms, a print journalist, columnist, scriptwriter for television series and documentaries, and in...

, which chronicles the events of the Ramayana

Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

 in a modern retelling of the Indian epic. The series revolves around the stories of Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

, Lakshman, and Sita

SITA

SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...

 and their struggles against the demon-king Ravana

Ravana

' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...

, highlighting the intense love of Rama and Sita and the young prince's adherence to Dharma.

This particular novel focuses on the events described in the Sundarkanda of the Ramayana and has a large emphasis upon Hanuman

Hanuman

Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...

, who is often revered as much as Rama.

Prologue

Hanuman is meditating in a cave, waiting for an emissary of a mysterious race to arrive. As he meditates upon the name of Rama, the emissary arrives. The unknown creature states over Hanuman's requests that they are readily willing to go to war without need of old alliances. Pleased but surprised by this turn of events, Hanuman listens to the creature's instructions to meditate upon his untapped potential...

Lanka

The story takes place approximately two weeks following the end of the events of Armies of Hanuman, beginning in Lanka. Sita wakes up from an apparently groggy sleep to Rama's voice, awakening in a garden with a supernatural feel. As she recalls the events of her kidnapping, Rama appears and tells her that he is ready to rescue her from Ravana's clutches. She realizes something is wrong, however, as she recognizes being drugged with opium

Opium

Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...

. He hides as Ravana

Ravana

' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...

 himself then appears upon the scene and tells Sita that she is welcome as a guest, and that her every need will be met. After a brief exchange, Rama then returns and says that he will kill Ravana and rescue Sita. As he's about to carry her off, Sita recognizes that "Rama" is actually Surpanakha

Surpanakha

Surpanakha or Shurpanakha is one of the most important characters in the Ramayana. Indeed, Valmiki comes close to claiming that if there had been no Kaikeyi and no Surpanakha, then there would have been no Ramayana and no war with Ravana...

 in disguise. She attempts to kill Sita but is foiled by Ravana, who simply makes sure that Sita is unhurt and walks off.

Sita makes an attempt to escape the garden, but to her shock finds out that she's actually in a garden of maya

Maya (illusion)

Maya , in Indian religions, has multiple meanings, usually quoted as "illusion", centered on the fact that we do not experience the environment itself but rather a projection of it, created by us. Maya is the principal deity that manifests, perpetuates and governs the illusion and dream of duality...

 created by the Pushpak in the Tower of Lanka, and that the ground is miles beneath her. Ravana appears at her side and explains to her that so long as she is trapped in the tower garden, she will be unable to escape, and that she should not attempt it.

The Vanar and Bear Armies

On the other side of the ocean impasse, Lakshman and Rama wait anxiously for Hanuman to return with the heavy reinforcements for the Kishkindha

Kishkindha

Kishkindha is mythical the monkey kingdom of the Vanara King Sugriva, the younger brother of Vali, in the Indian mythology of Ramayana times...

 vanar army. Lakshman feels slightly disgusted that they are not approaching their own clansmen for help, but Rama adamantly states that he will not break the terms of his exile and will continue to rely on King Sugreeva's help. Slightly irritated, Lakshman states his feeling that the army of "talking monkeys" is simply not enough. At that point, Hanuman returns, and to the surprise of the collected vanars, appears physically more powerful and divine than he was before he left. To the utter astonishment of the gathered beings, he states that every single living vanar male and female capable of fighting has joined the forces of Rama's army, creating an army unparalleled to that of any other ever collected in living history. He uses the term janaya-sena, or generation army, to describe the gathering. Rama sees with further amazement that Hanuman has also brought a massive force of bears, each one powerful enough to take on ten armed humans. Rama meets Jambavan, king of the bears, who tells him that he is a son of the mother bear he saved earlier and therefore owes a life debt to him.

The Bridge

Further discussion ensues regarding how to cross the ocean. Jambavan flatly refuses to create boats, a feat that would have been impossible given the timespan allotted anyway, citing it as an act of murder to chop down trees. They instead decide to use large stones, rolled into the ocean with the help of the vast army, in order to create a huge bridge. The work begins, taking many days and many lives as bears and vanars alike are maimed and crushed by fallen stones.

The Rising of Hanuman

During the backbreaking work of the stonelifting, an extraordinary event occurs. As a large stone rolls awry down the hillside and threatens to crush a huge contingent of vanars and Rama himself, Hanuman steps in front of the stone and grows to a size that allows him to literally lift the stone in the palm of his hand. Amazed, the army asks him to repeat the feat but Hanuman is unable to control whatever occurred to him. Jambavan takes him off for meditation and training, as the bridge-building continues.

Upon his return, Jambavan states that he knows exactly what is going on with Hanuman. He reveals that Hanuman's mother, Anjana, was a cursed apsara

Apsara

An Apsara , also known as Vidhya Dhari or Tep Apsar in Khmer, Accharā or A Bố Sa La Tư , Bidadari , Biradali , Widodari and Apson , is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in...

 named Punjikasthala, a celestial dancer in the court of Indra and lover of Vayu, deva of the winds. As a cursed vanar she nevertheless retained her beauty and was married to Kesari, a noble vanar. She loved her husband but wished to return back to her previous state as an apsara. Indra sympathetically found a loophole in the curse which bound her, and she was able to return to her form as an apsara for one night. Vayu appeared before her, but initially although she flatly refused his advances, he stated that she is not committing a sin, and she allowed them to consummate their love. Later, Anjana had absolutely no memory of the incident but nevertheless gave birth to Hanuman. This made Hanuman none other than the son of Vayu, god of the winds.

This shocking revelation that Hanuman is part deva - and therefore worthy of worship - brings tears to Sugreeva, who states that if he had known all along, he would have gladly abdicated his kingship. Hanuman reproves him and states that he wishes for no-one to worship him, as he only regards his master as Rama. Sugreeva agrees to allow Hanuman to remain under the mastership of Rama, who is deeply honored. Hanuman reveals that he now has complete control over his power, and with rapid succession the bridge-building continues. Spurred by a new, safer, and more efficient discovery made by Nala and Hanuman's sheer strength, the building of the bridge rapidly begins to speed up, and the completion of the bridge nears.

The New Crisis and Hanuman's Flight

On one fine morning dawn, Rama travels out to the edge of the bridge in order to perform his morning prayers, when Dasharatha descends from Heaven to give him a warning - that Sita will die by the end of the night if Rama does not intervene. Horror-stricken, Rama asks Hanuman for his help, when Jambavan reveals that he is capable of flight

Flight

Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....

. Hanuman makes a gigantic leap which sends him airborne at supersonic speed towards Lanka. On the way he encounters a number of tests, including the Lady of the Serpents, Sarasa, and Mainika, the mountain. Ravana detects Hanuman's presence as he is flying over the sea and seeks to try and crush him by controlling his shadow, but Hanuman breaks free, uncorrupted.

Arrival in Lanka

Upon arriving in Lanka, Hanuman is met by a spirit who calls herself the Lady of Lanka, a being formed from what seems like ocean mist. She takes corporeal form and guides Hanuman through the city into the Tower of Lanka. Hanuman initially begins to develop feelings for her (despite having taken a vow of celibacy) but realizes that something is wrong. He attacks her and she is revealed to be none other than Surpanakha, who was under Ravana's orders to take him to Ravana's lair. He forces her to take him to the grove where Sita is being held.

Upon arriving, Sita initially refuses to believe Hanuman is a messenger of Rama. However, over a period of time, he recounts Rama's exploits up to that point and she swiftly believes him. However, when he offers to take her back (under Rama's orders), she adamantly refuses, saying that if he does, history will regard Rama as a coward and refuse to accept him as anything but a genocidal fool who didn't have the courage to face up to Ravana.

Hanuman finds out that Sita was framed for the murder of a female rakshasi who was sympathetic to her, when in reality the murderer was another rakshasi acting under Mandodhari's orders. Mandodhari, thoroughly brainwashed by Ravana into believing Sita was a threat to their society, had plotted to have her killed. Sita had been tried by a court led by Ravana and through a complete mockery of judicial process, had been condemned to death by being eaten alive, despite Vibhishan's attempts to save her. Hanuman, in his rage, begins to systematically destroy the tower of Lanka.

Hanuman's Rampage

Hanuman begins tearing his way through the domain of the tower, destroying the buildings and killing hordes of rakshasas made to guard areas of the tower. Ravana's generals are sent to battle with him but they and their troops are completely annihilated aside from Prahasta, Ravana's highest commander. Nevertheless, his son Jambumali is slaughtered by Hanuman, who continues his rampage of death.

Ravana finally decides to send his sons against Hanuman. He sends Akshay Kumar, who fights skillfully against him but is no match for Hanuman's sheer strength, and is literally mashed into pieces. Furious, Ravana sends Indrajit after him despite reproaches by Mandodhari. Indrajit utters part of the incantation for the Brahmastra - the same weapon used by Rama on the battlefield in Mithila - and threatens to use it against Hanuman unless he surrenders. Hanuman surrenders out of fear that use of the weapon will destroy much more than himself, and he relents. He is captured and tortured by Indrajit, who brings him before Ravana.

Incensed by Hanuman's defeat and killing of Akshay Kumar, he immediately orders Hanuman put to death. However, Vibhishan once again intervenes on his behalf, and states that according to the code of conduct, as a messenger, Hanuman cannot be killed. Hanuman begins to recount the reason he came, while simultaneously extolling Ravana's presence. Confused, the court decides to go with Vibhishan's recommendation, and Ravana level-headedly makes a decision to spare Hanuman's life but mutilate him by burning off his tail, the most precious part of a vanar's body. Hanuman does not protest, and agrees with his judgment.

Hanuman is paraded through the streets and his tail is set on fire. However, as the flames threaten to consume the rest of his body, he makes the last-second decision to increase the length of his tail size so that the fire will spread in the opposite direction, and his ploy works. Using his burning tail, he destroys most of Lanka and expands to an enormous size. He takes Sita and puts her down in a safe area, then using his sheer strength, mashes the Tower of Lanka to shreds. Triumphant, he douses his tail and with the blessings of Sita, flies back over the sea to the mainland, where Rama waits.

Hanuman's Powers

Hanuman has powers that would normally be described as superhuman

Superhuman

Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...

. Some of those depicted in the novel are:

• Flight
• Superhuman strength
• Ability to expand or shrink to any size
• Heat vision
• Incredible speed
• Changling
• Immortality

. Kindness
. Unconditional Love with Rama
. Responsible with every feeling.

Differences from the Valmiki Ramayana

• The bridge building process was more complex in the original, as there was some divine intent to it. Various versions of the story exist, but one of the most prevalent is that Nala and Nila, two of the vanar engineers, had a curse placed upon them that whatever they touched could never sink.
• In the original, no lives are taken by the bridge building
• The chronology of the events are somewhat off in the novel. In the original text, Hanuman is sent as an emissary to Lanka before the armies even leave Kishkindha, and creates havoc and destruction there. Ravana is completely unaware of his presence until he starts destroying the Ashoka Vatika. He does, however, kill Akshay Kumar, and is tried on fairer terms than depicted in the novel. Only after returning does the army of Kishkindha leave for Lanka and the bridge building starts. The events were obviously changed around for dramatic reasons and for significant earlier alterations to the story.
• Sita's dialogues with Ravana are given more emphasis in the original text, as it shows Sita as very powerful woman who has great pride in both her kingdom and her husband.
• The Tower of Lanka did not exist in the original Ramayana, and the Pushpak, while unique, did not possess such huge mayavic powers - any powers used were attributed to the user of the Pushpak, which is believed to have run on a combination of mechanical, solar, and divine power.
• Hanuman's life and the reason for his godlike powers are given more explanation in the original text, whereas the novel attributes most of his powers to a boon of immortality and invulnerability given by Indra and being the son of a god. In the original text he is not only the son of Vayu, he possesses huge tapasic powers and is given boons by nearly every deva, including Agni, Varuna, and Indra.