Valmiki

 

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I have always been fascinated by poets and music composers. What would it take to just create something out of nothing? Today poets have so many guidelines and other poems for references. But the person I am going to talk today was the first ever poet in the entire world. Through his poems he gave a consciousness for this age long civilization of sanatan dharam. So just how did he create this? Let us see…

Unlike Vyasa, Valmiki did not write anything about his own life except for the instances where he appears in Ramayana. However, the story of Valmiki that is popular can be found in the Padma Purana,and the story goes like this.

Ratnakar was a hunter and used to make a living out of hunting. When his earnings weren’t enough to take care of his family, he takes up robbery. One day the Saptarishi were passing through the jungle. There is another version that says it was Narad Muni. However, we are going to stick to the Padma Purana which says it was the Saptarishi. So looking at them pass through the he threatened to kill them if they wouldn’t give up their possessions. When the sages questions him about his cruel behaviour towards them, he answers saying that he was only doing his dharmic duty of taking care of his family. The sages having realized the dacoits ignorance asked him if it was his family who asked him to rob? Ratnakar says “no, but they know that this is what I do and so they support me.” In response they asked, you are committing sins by robbing, would they share your sins as well? And that’s what hits Ratnakar. He runs home and asks everyone in his family “will you share my sins? After all I do this for you”. To his utter shock they all denied, and tell him “it is your duty to serve us but the path you take in order to do that is your own decision and so we cannot share your sins.” Similarly, any action that we perform the consequences may be our and ours alone!

Let us continue with what happened to Ratnakar. Having realized the nature of life Ratnakar runs back to the rishi’s and falls at their feet realizing his mistake. The rishi’s then ask him to chant “mara, mara”. Chanting Ram ram Ratnakar did not even realize and anthill being formed around him. When the saptarishi’s came they were impressed by Ratnakar and saw that just through naam japa, Ratnakar had reached the absolute truth. Since Ratnakar emerged out of this anthill – he came to be known s Valmiki.

Valmiki is also known as Adi-kavi. Meaning the first ever poet. What separates a poem from a mere paragraph is the meter or the rhythm, the number of words and sentences put in place to form a particular style of pattern. This in Sanskrit is what we call shloka translating to song from shr meaning hear. And the first ever shloka to eb written was by Valmiki.

One day as he was noticing two birds making love an arrow shot one of the bird. Extremely saddened by the event, he cursed the hunter. This set of words that came from his mouth surprised him. He was saddened that he had uttered a terrible curse. But later lord brahma asks him to use his discovery to write down the entire life of Lord Rama. Valmiki realized that the first verse that has come out of his mouth if rearranged would give a different meaning. The verse goes

 

मा निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमः शाश्वतीः समाः ।

यत्क्रौंचमिथुनादेकमवधी काममोहितम् ।।

Want that so beautiful to hear ….

It initially meant as a curse “Oh! hunter! (nishada), by which reason you killed one of the krauncha birds who were in great love, for the same reason, may you not attain glory for many long years!” however, if you read it differently by switching the exclamations it would mean “He! Maanishaadaa or Shreenivaasa! Attain glory for all time to come since you killed the evil one of the krouncha pair” – the evil one being ravana, this turned into a praise of Lord shri Ram! One must understand that this was the first shloka to be uttered, but about rama and not the first shloka of Ramayana.

However, Valmiki had heard the story about a person called Rama from Narad Muni. So with discovery of “shloka” and Lord Brahmas blessing that the events of Rama’s life would be revealed to him, Valmiki set out to write the first ever poem to be ever written – the story of Rama’s life – Ramayana.

Valmiki himself was a part of the events of Ramayana – When Rama, Lakshmana and Sita visit Valmiki ashram during Vanvasa.

That Ramyana which was written at 12000BCE and sung widely by Valmiki’s disciples, is still being recited today in the homes every Hindu Family. Isnt that fascinating! In fact Brahma himself had said that until the mountains and oceans still remain, until mankind exists – Ramayana will be recited over and over – Making us remember the value of Dharma.  

Through the Ramayana, Valmiki wrote down not just the historical events of Ramayana but also the symbolistic meaning of Rama being our own consciousness! It embodies the values of an ideal character – it is a adventure of our human life through its journey – through mistakes, realizations, rediscovery if ones own self and becoming one with the supreme lord!

Valmiki gave a direction and consciousness to this age-old civilization in through Shri Rama!