“0 Holy one”, Valmiki said, “I find that this world is a wicked place filled with ignoble people. If I could find at least one human being who would possess the qualities of a noble soul, then I would feel like returning to the world. Otherwise it would be better for me to remain within the security of my ant-hill. Tell me, do you know of such a one”?
Narada asked him to enumerate these qualities. Valmiki said, “Integrity, bravery, righteousness, gratitude, truthfulness, dedication to one’s principles, concern for all living beings, learning, skill, beauty, courage, ability to keep anger under control, lack of jealousy and undaunted heroism. 0 sage, pray tell me, am I expecting too much. Can anyone have all these qualities at the same time”! Narada was pleased to answer this question and said, “Indeed I do know of such a person. He is born in the line of lkshvaku and his name is Rama”.
Narada then proceeded to acquaint Valmiki briefly with the story of Rama who possessed all the qualities of a perfect man. He concluded the story by saying, “This Rama now resides in the city of Ayodhya and rules the kingdom with all righteousness. He is born to establish dharma on earth. Very soon, as I said, his wife Sita will be coming here and it is your duty to take care of her”. Thus saying the sage departed, strumming his lute.
After he had left, Valmiki went to the land near the Tamasa river and made his hermitage. Soon he had many disciples. One winter morning he went to the banks of the river for his bath. On the way, he saw two cranes mating. As the sage gazed in joy at their spontaneous love for each other, a fowler aimed a fatal arrow at the male bird and shot him, contrary to all rules of dharma. Pierced by that cruel arrow, in the midst of the act of love, the bird fell to the ground with a heartrending cry. Wrenched from her lover, the female bird screamed piteously, beating her breast with her wings. She fluttered around, terrified and bewildered. Her piteous cries brought a gush of compassion into the heart of the sage and he cursed the fowler.
As soon as the curse left his lips, he felt great remorse. He was horrified that his compassion for the bird had made him break his vow of non-violence by cursing the fowler, who was after all only a helpless victim of his own karma, like he had been a long time before. He felt very unhappy about the whole episode. Then he realised that his curse had flowed from his lips in a spontaneous verse of four lines with eight syllables each. He was struck by the beauty of the verse and told his disciple Bharadvaja to memorise it. The sage then continued with his interrupted ablutions and returned to his ashrama. Just then two young brahmacharis from the neighbouring ashrama ran to him and told him that a beautiful woman had been abandoned near the river and appeared to be contemplating jumping into it. Valmiki ran to the woman and knew that it was Sita, the wife of Rama, as told by Narada. He escorted her home and told the wives of the sages to look after her, for she was carrying the heir to the throne of the lkshvakus.
Later, when he sat for meditation, he was filled with remorse over the episode of the two cranes and his involuntary curse of the hunter. Brahma, the Creator appeared to him and told him not to brood over this strange event because from this incident would arise the inspiration to narrate the story of Rama, Sita and of Lakshmana.
Brahma spoke thus : “You will be inspired 0 rishi, to compose a most memorable poem on the exploits of Sri Rama. The whole life of Rama will be revealed to you. Everything that you say in your poem will be based on facts which you have witnessed. You will be able to see each and everyone of the glorious episodes in the life of Sri Rama. You will get great fame as the first of all poets. The story of Rama will endure as long as these mountains and rivers stay on the face of this earth. Your fame will resound in the realms of heaven above and the kingdoms of the earth below”.
Having blessed Valmiki thus, Brahma departed. Valmiki then sat down and meditated on the Lord and out of his mouth gushed forth the immortal poem, called Ramayana – the way of Rama. This is how the Ramayana came to be written, from the depths of Valmiki’s sorrow, at the fate of the two birds who were so much in love with each other and who were parted so cruelly. It does not need much imagination to see the parallel between this story and the fate of the two lovers, Rama and Sita who were parted time and time again, despite their intense love for each other. The poem took twelve long years to complete and by then Sita had given birth to twins and the children had become twelve years of age.
Having composed this remarkable poem consisting of twenty-four thousand verses on the life of Sri Rama and Sita, the seer looked around for a person with a prodigious memory who could memorise the entire story. Just at that moment the twin sons of Sri Rama himself – called Lava and Kusha who were being brought up by Valmiki, in his own hermitage—appeared before him, clad in hermit’s garb. Knowing them to be endowed with great intelligence and mastery of music, the sage forthwith proceeded to teach them the entire poem, which they mastered with ease. At an august assembly of sages, the twins sang the whole poem, exquisitely, in one voice. The sages were charmed and gave them many boons.
It was at this time that news was brought to the ashrama, that the king was going to hold the aswamedha yaga, which would last for one whole year at the forest of Naimisharanya. When he heard this, Valmiki told the two boys, Lava and Kusha,to go to the yaga and recite the whole of the Ramayana in front of Rama and the assembled sages. The children did as they were told. As the melodious voices of the children rose in unison with faultless rhythm and perfect harmony, tears started pouring down the cheeks of Sri Rama and the whole court became totally absorbed in the narrative. This is the story of the Ramayana which they sang.
Thus ends the first Canto called “Valmiki” of the Bala Kanda in the glorious Ramayana of the Sage Valmiki.