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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.18

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 2: Grief becomes the first śloka. A bird’s death moves Vālmīki to utter the first śloka, Brahmā asks him to compose Rāma’s life in that form

In the sequence: he recognizes their balanced metrical feet and equal syllables, suitable for singing with a lute, and calls the utterance a śloka → Bharadvāja receives it with delight

1.2.18

śiṣyas tu tasya bruvato muner vākyam anuttamam
pratijagrāha saṃhṛṣṭas tasya tuṣṭo 'bhavad guruḥ

The disciple received with delight that peerless utterance of the sage as he spoke; and the teacher was pleased with him.

Words: śiṣyas tu — and the disciple; tasya — his; bruvato — as he was speaking; muner — of the sage; vākyam — the utterance; anuttamam — peerless, unsurpassed; pratijagrāha — received, took up; saṃhṛṣṭas — delighted; tasya — with him; tuṣṭo — pleased; 'bhavad — became; guruḥ — the teacher

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.