जय श्रीराम!
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स सेतुं बन्धयामास प्लवगैर्लवणाम्भसि ।
रसातलादिवोन्मग्नं शेषं स्वप्नाय शार्ङ्गिणः ॥१२.७०॥
Notes: Kālidāsa says, "Śrīrāma then had a mighty bridge constructed by the army of Vānaras (habituated to travelling aerially in leaps and bounds) over that salty ocean, such that the bridge looked like the great serpent Ādiśeṣa arisen from the netherworld, stretching himself for Lord Mahāviṣṇu, wielding the divine bow Śārṅga, to rest upon."
Kālidāsa's magic with words is to paint a consummate picture with so many dimensions with such frugality of syllables. Do you see the insurmountable ocean of salt water, most inhospitable for men? So what does Śrīrāma do? Choose the creatures who can travel aerially and avoid drowning to be the workers to build a mighty bridge. And when completed, how does that bridge look? Like Ādiśeṣa himself, a divine serpent that stretches almost endlesslessly in the ocean, who can support the entire globe on his hood! And why does the great serpent come and stretch himself? To provide the couch for the Supreme Person Mahāviṣṇu.
Kālidāsa conveys that here was Śrīrāma walking over that bridge which was like Ādiśeṣa. The simile is complete - Mahāviṣṇu wields a bow too, that is the divine bow Śārṅga, while Śrīrāma, his incarnation, wields the infallible Kodaṅḍa!
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