Maharishi Valmiki

2.  Valmiki is celebrated
as the harbinger-poet
in Sanskrit literature.
He lived in the first
millennium BCE. He
is the author of the
epic Rāmāyaṇa,
based on the
attribution in the text
of the epic itself

3. . 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.

4.  The Uttara Kanda, the last of the seven
books of the Rāmāyaṇa, tells the story
of Valmiki's early life, as a highway
robber named Ratnakar, who used to
rob people after killing them. Once, the
robber tried to rob the divine sage
Narada for the benefit of his family

5.  . Narada asked him if his
family would share the sin
he was incurring due to
the robbery. The robber
replied positively, but
Narada told him to
confirm this with his
family. The robber asked
his family, but none
agreed to bear the burden
of sin. Dejected, the robber
finally understood the
truth of life

6.  The Rāmāyaṇa, originally written by Vālmīki,
consists of 23,000 slokas and 7 cantos
{Kaṇḍas} including the Uttara canto {Kaṇḍa}.

7.  The Rāmāyaṇa tells
the story of a prince,
Rama 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.

8.  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

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