Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c8.1186

c8.1186

NALA III. A monkey. This monkey was the son of Viśvakarmā. Śrī Rāma and the monkey-army went to redeem Sītā from Laṅkā and reached the sea-shore. A bridge had to be made to cross the sea and reach Laṅkā. Immediately Varuṇa the King of the seas appeared there and said, “Nala who is in the monkey-army, is the son of Viśvakarmā. His father had given him a blessing that he would become as expert an architect as his father. So let the construction of the bridge be commenced under his supervision.” Accordingly under the supervision of Nala, Rāma’s bridge of rock was completed and Śrī Rāma and the army of monkeys reached Laṅkā by walking over this bridge (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Sarga 22). In the battle between Rāma and Rāvaṇa, Nala fought with the giant Tuṇḍaka. (M.B. Vana Parva, Chapter 285, Stanza 9).