How a Squirrel Helped Lord Rama Build the Bridge to Lanka

When the demon king Ravana abducted Sita, the beloved wife of Lord Rama, Rama set out to rescue her alongside his devoted brother Lakshmana and an army of valiant vanaras led by the mighty Hanuman.

Their journey brought them to the edge of the great ocean, beyond which lay Lanka—the island fortress of Ravana.

To reach Lanka, Rama commanded his army to build a bridge across the sea. It was to be a mighty undertaking—one that would unite nature, strength, and devotion. The vanaras immediately set to work. They climbed mountains, hauled massive boulders, and shaped them with tireless hands. Day and night, the seashore echoed with the sounds of effort and loyalty. Under the sun and stars alike, thousands of vanaras toiled, their hearts burning with devotion for Rama.

Watching their relentless effort, Rama smiled. “Their love for me drives them. How selfless is their service,” he thought.

One day, amidst the noise of crashing waves and the rhythm of labor, Rama noticed something unusual—a small brown squirrel scurrying along the shore. Its tiny paws carried pebbles, one at a time, which it dropped carefully into the sea. Back and forth it went, again and again, tireless in its own way.

As the squirrel returned with another pebble, a great vanara approached, bearing a giant rock on his shoulder. The squirrel darted across his path, and the vanara stumbled. “Watch where you’re going!” the vanara bellowed, annoyed. “You’re in my way, little creature. What do you think you’re doing?”

The squirrel looked up with earnest eyes. “Forgive me, Brother Vanar. I meant no harm. I’m helping to build Lord Rama’s bridge.”

The vanara blinked. Then he burst into laughter, loud and booming. “Did you hear that?” he called to his companions. “This tiny thing is helping to build the bridge—with pebbles!”

The other vanaras laughed too. “How absurd!” one of them mocked. “Does he think Rama needs pebbles when we have rocks and strength?”

But the squirrel remained undeterred. “It’s true I am small,” he said calmly, “and I cannot carry mountains. But my heart longs to serve Rama. He gave me what little strength I have—and I’ll use every bit of it for him.”

The vanaras scoffed. “This is no place for the weak. Go back home before you get hurt.”

Still, the squirrel kept at his task, moving pebble after pebble from the shore to the sea. Annoyed, one of the vanaras picked him up by the tail and flung him far away.

The squirrel cried out, “Rama!” as he sailed through the air—and landed gently in the hands of the Lord himself.

Rama caught the trembling squirrel and held him close. His eyes, filled with compassion, turned toward the vanaras. “Do not mock the small or the weak,” he said gently but firmly. “Strength and size are not what I cherish most. I value love and devotion above all.”

He continued, “O vanaras, you are mighty and courageous. Your labor with the great boulders is truly admirable. But do you not see? It is the tiny pebbles and grains of sand—placed by the likes of this squirrel—that fill the gaps between the rocks and bind the structure together. Without them, the bridge would fall apart.”

Ashamed, the vanaras lowered their heads.

“No effort is too small when offered with love,” Rama said. “A great mission is never accomplished by the strong alone. Every hand, every heart counts.”

He then turned to the squirrel and stroked its back gently. Three white lines appeared where his divine fingers touched. “Little one,” he said softly, “your love touches my heart. Go forth and continue your service with joy.”

From that day on, the squirrel carried the marks of Rama’s blessing—three stripes on its back, a reminder that no offering, however small, is overlooked by the Lord.