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|---|---|
 Vālmīki ṛṣi composing the Rāmāyaṇa. | |
| Honors | Deepanshu Kulshreshtha |
| Religious life | |
| Philosophy | Dharmic movement called Valmikism is based on Valmiki's teachings. |
| Composed Rāmāyaṇa and Yoga Vasiṣṭha | |
Valmiki (Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि; In Diacritical Marks:Vālmīki; during Lord Śrī Rāma's time) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Rāmāyaṇa, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Ādi Kavi, which translates to First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e. first verse, which set the base and defined the form to Sanskrit poetry.
Early life
Little is known about the exact childhood of Vālmīki, but as to how he came to be known by that name, there is the following account. It involves a younger Vālmīki(not known by that name, then) meeting the Sage Nārada.
Writer of the Rāmāyaṇa
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The Rāmāyaṇa, originally written by Vālmīki, consists of 24,000 ślokas in seven cantos (some say six i.e. excluding the Uttara Rāmāyaṇa) (kāṇḍas). The Rāmāyaṇa tells the story of a prince, Rāma of Ayodhyā, whose wife Sītā is abducted by the Demon-King (Rākṣasa) of Laṅkā, Rāvaṇa. The Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa is dated variously from 500 BC to 100 BC, or about co-eval with early versions of the Mahābhārata. As with many traditional epics, it has gone through a long process of interpolations and redactions, making it impossible to date accurately.
Notwithstanding the aforesaid, it is pertinent to note that Vālmīki is also quoted to be the contemporary of Śrī Rāma. Śrī Rāma met Vālmīki during his period of exile and had interacted with him. Vālmīki had Sītā in his hermitage where Kuśa and Lava were born to Sītā. Vālmīki taught Rāmāyaṇa to Kuśa and Lava, who later sang the divine story in Ayodhyā during the Aśvamedha yajña congregation, to the pleasure of the audience, whereupon, King Śrī Rāma summoned them to his royal palace. Kuśa and Lava sang the story of Śrī Rāma there, and Śrī Rāma confirmed that whatever had been sung by these two children was entirely true.
The first śloka
Vālmīki was going to the river Ganges for his daily ablutions. A disciple by the name Bharadvāja was carrying his clothes. On the way, they came across the Tamasa Stream. Looking at the stream, Vālmīki said to his disciple, "Look, how clear is this water, like the mind of a good man! I will bathe here today." When he was looking for a suitable place to step into the stream, he saw a Crane (bird) couple mating. Vālmīki felt very pleased on seeing the happy birds. Suddenly, hit by an arrow; the male bird died on the spot. Filled by sorrow its mate screamed in agony and died of shock. Vālmīki 's heart melted at this pitiful sight. He looked around to find out who had shot the bird. He saw a hunter with a bow and arrows, nearby. Vālmīki became very angry. His lips opened and he uttered the following words:
मां निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमः शाश्वतीः समाः। यत्क्रौंचमिथुनादेकम् अवधीः काममोहितम्॥'
- mā niṣāda pratiṣṭhāṁ tvamagamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ
- yat krauñcamithunādekam avadhīḥ kāmamohitam
- You will find no rest for the long years of Eternity
- For you killed a bird in love and unsuspecting
Emerging spontaneously from his rage and grief, this was the first śloka in Sanskrit literature. Later Vālmīki Muni composed the entire Rāmāyaṇa with the blessings of Lord Brahmā in the same meter that issued forth from him as the śloka. Thus this śloka is revered as the "first śloka" in Hindu literature. Vālmīki Muni is revered as the first poet, or Ādi Kavi, and the Rāmāyaṇa, the first Kāvya.
His first disciples to whom he taught the Rāmāyaṇa were Kuśa and Lava, the sons of Śrī Rāma.
References
- Julia Leslie, Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki, Ashgate (2003), p. 154. ISBN 0-7546-3431-0
- Vālmīki, Robert P. Goldman (1990). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Vol. 1. Princeton University Press. pp. 14–15. ISBN 0-691-01485-X.
- and 7 cantos{Kaṇḍas}including the Uttara canto{Kaṇḍa}Rāmāyaṇa is composed of about 480,002 words, a quarter of the length of the full text of the Mahābhārata or about four times the length of the Iliad.
- Goldman, Robert P., The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India pp. 23
- Sacred-Texts.com IAST encoded transliteration (modified from original source to accurately reflect sandhi rules)
- Buck, William and van Nooten, B. A. Ramayana. 2000, page 7
External links
- Valmiki biography webpage
- Satya Sarada Kandula, "Valmiki - Adikavi", The Ancient Indians
- Shastra Nethralaya, Rishikesh
- Ramayana by Valmiki illustrated with Indian miniatures from the 16th to the 19th century
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