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Revision as of 10:54, 17 September 2013 by Martin of Sheffield (talk | contribs) (→Writer of the Rāmāyaṇa: Spelling/grammar correction)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) For the 1946 Tamil-language film, see Valmiki (1946 film).| Vālmīki | |
|---|---|
 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; Vālmīki) 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 invented śloka (i.e. first verse or epic metre), which set the base and defined the form to Sanskrit poetry.
Writer of the Rāmāyaṇa
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The Rāmāyaṇa, originally written by Vālmīki, consists of 23,000 ślokas and 7 cantos {Kaṇḍas} including the Uttara canto {Kaṇḍa}. Rāmāyaṇa is composed of about 480,002 words, being a quarter of the length of the full text of the Mahābhārata or about four times the length of the Iliad. 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 process of interpolations and redactions, making it impossible to date accurately.
Vālmīki is also quoted to be the contemporary of Śrī Rāma. Śrī Rāma met Vālmīki during his period of exile and interacted with him. Vālmīki gave shelter to Sītā in his hermitage when Rama banished her. Kuśa and Lava the twin sons of Sri Rama were born to Sītā in this hermitage.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 questioned who they were and later visited Valmiki's hermitage to confirm if the Sita, the two children claimed as their mother was in fact his wife in exile. Later, he 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 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 cried out,
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 Valmiki's 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.
प्रचेत्सोऽहं दशमः पुत्रो राघवनंन्दन | न स्मराम्यनृतं वाक्यमिमौ तु तव पुत्रकौ || 96:16
In another verse, it is also stated that he is from the lineage of the sage Bhārgava
संनिबद्धं हि श्लोकानां चतुर्विंशत्सहस्रकम् | उपाख्यानशतं चैव भार्गवेण तपस्विना || 94:24
Vālmīki was fisherman(Koli) by birth. Thus, it can be taken as reasonably ascertained that even though he was brought up by foster parents who were hunters, his adoption must have occurred at an age by which time, Vālmīki was well aware of his lineage and his real parenthood.
Legend has it that once when he was a very young boy, he wandered off into the forest while playing. His parents searched for him everywhere and being not able to find him anywhere in the nearby forest areas, finally gave up the search having concluded that they had lost their son in the dangerous parts of the forest, perhaps to some wild beast. The young boy was found by a hunter couple and was brought up by them as if he were their own child. They named him Ratnakara and taught him the art of hunting. Ratnakara learned to hunt and grew up into a young lad. His parents found a suitable girl who came from a similar hunter family and married him off. As he set up his family and had children, gradually he began to feel it difficult to provide for the family by his hunting alone. Daily hunting had hardened his heart. Then he began to stop the wayfarers who happened to pass through the forest, threatened them and made them part with all their belongings. He brought them to his family. His wife and children would happily partake of whatever he brought them.
It is said that he had become such a terror for the animals in the forest that if he walked, the beasts would scatter away fearful of being hunted down by him. One day, he saw the seven sages walking through the forest and jumped in front of them and demanded that they part with all that they had. The seven sages were the Saptarshis who walk the three worlds sanctifying them with their presence. The sages looked at Vālmīki with compassionate eyes and readily offered the kamandalu that they carried. They said, “This is all we have and you may gladly have it”. Vālmīki was nonplussed by their non-resistance and the deep peace they carried. Normally when he attacked wayfarers they would struggle and sweat or fall at his feet and plead for mercy. These sages remained unperturbed by his ferocity, unmoved by his blood stained weapons. They looked at him as if he were a child asking for some toy. Their stillness brought Ratnakara’s rage and passion down. They asked him why he was stealing from wayfarers. Vālmīki answered that he was doing it to maintain a standard of living for his family.
As God's incarnation
The Vishnudharmottara Purana says that Valmiki was born in the Tetrayuga as a form of Vishnu who composed the Ramayana, and that people desirious of earning knowledge should worship Valmiki.
The Balmiki community found in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat worship Valmiki as their ancestor and as God.
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.
- P. 505 Encyclopaedia of Hinduism, Volume 3 By Sunil Sehgal
- 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
- P. 166 Mythology of Vishnu and His Incarnations By Manohar Laxman Varadpande
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