The first Sanskrit poetry, "Adikavya," which is widely recognised as the epic Ramayana, was written by Valmiki. He was born in ancient India to a sage named Prachetasa near the banks of the Ganges. Ratnakara had been his birth name. Pracheta was the name of his father.
There once was a time when Valmiki (Ratnakara) was lost in the wilderness. Ratnakara was seen by a passing hunter, who took him into his own care. Ratnakara became a skilled hunter under his tutelage. He then turned to thievery and started robbing travellers between villages..
Legend has it that Valmiki was once visited by the mythical sage Narada. Narada observed a change approaching Ratnakara as he played his Veena and chanted hymns to the Lord. Narada transformed him into a "Brahmarishi," or religious scholar, by persuading him of the sinfulness of his actions. He was instructed by Narada to recite the holy name "Rama" while sitting in meditation. Ratnakara kept reciting the name of Rama while he performed his "tapasya." He had his eyes closed. He focused all of his thoughts on reciting the Lord's name. He lost awareness of his own existence. And thus quite a few years went by. Above and all around him formed a mound of ants.
Narada finally visited him and took out all the anthills from his body. Then he informed Ratnakara that the God was happy with him and that his meditation had paid off. Since Ratnakara was reincarnated from the Valmika (the ant-hill), he was named Valmiki and endowed with the honour of becoming a Brahmarshi. On the banks of the Ganges River, Sage Valmiki established his ashram.Next, Narada told the tale of Lord Rama. The sage dutifully followed the Lord's instruction to write the Ramayana in slokas after receiving a vision from Brahma.
The Ramayana is a collection of 24,000 shlokas and 7 kaṇḍas, including Uttara Kanda, that was initially composed and penned by Valmiki. The Ramayana is approximately 480,002 words long, or one-fourth the length of the entire Mahabharata. The tale of Prince Rama of Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is taken captive by the demon ruler of Lanka, Ravana, is told in the Ramayana. The Valmiki Ramayana is dated in different ways, ranging from 500 BC to 100 BC, or roughly coinciding with the earlier Mahabharata versions.
मां निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमः शाश्वतीः समाः।
यत्क्रौंचमिथुनादेकम् अवधीः काममोहितम्॥'
The sons of Rama named Kusha and Lava were his first students, to whom he taught the tale of Ramayana.Sita was given refuge by Valmiki in his hermitage, where she gave birth to Shri Rama's twin sons. who, to the delight of the crowd, went on to sing the heavenly story at the Ashwamedha yajna assemblage in Ayodhya. King Rama then inquired as to their identity and went to Valmiki's hermitage to find out if Sita, whom the two youngsters claimed to be their mother, was, in fact, his wife in exile. He invited them to his royal palace later. There, Kusha and Lava sang the Ramayana, and Rama affirmed that what these two kids had sung was completely true.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeAbCsI4Mkk
प्रचेत्सोऽहं दशमः पुत्रो राघवनंन्दन |
न स्मराम्यनृतं वाक्यमिमौ तु तव पुत्रकौ |
Chennai is home to a temple dedicated to Valmiki that is thought to be 1300 years old. Valmiki is a wonderful illustration of how being around excellent men can elevate others. Through his association with Narada, he evolved into a renowned sage known as a Brahmarshi. He also contributed the world-famous "Ramayana." It is among the greatest epics ever written. It is read in the native tongues of foreigners. Studying the Ramayana has the power to change our life.
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