Valmiki is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic Ramayana, dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him. The Ramayan consists of about 480,002 words, being a quarter of the length of the full text of the Mahabharata.
About Valmiki in brief
Valmiki is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic Ramayana, dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him. Valmiki was born as Agni Sharma to a Brahmin named Pracheta of Bhrigu gotra. According to legend he once met the great sage Narada and had a discourse with him on his duties. As he performed his penance for several years, the word became ‘Rama’, the name of Lord Vishnu. Huge anthills formed around him and this earned him the name ‘Vālmīki’ There also exist some legends about Valmki having been a thief before turning into a rishi.
He is revered as Ādi Kavi, the first poet, author of Ramayanas, the world’s first epic poem. The Ramayan consists of 24,000 shlokas and seven cantos. It is composed of about 480,002 words, being a quarter of the length of the full text of the Mahabharata. It has gone through a process of interpolations and redactions, making it impossible to date accurately. The story of a prince, Rama of the city of Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is abducted by Ravana, the demon-king of Lanka.
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This page is based on the article Valmiki published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
