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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.19

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: Vālmīki bathes and returns to the hermitage, still pondering, while Bharadvāja follows with the filled water pot

1.2.19

so 'bhiṣekaṃ tataḥ kṛtvā tīrthe tasmin yathāvidhi
tam eva cintayann artham upāvartata vai muniḥ

Then, having performed his ablution at that bathing-place according to rule, the sage turned back, still pondering that very matter.

Words: so 'bhiṣekaṃ — he the ablution; tataḥ — then; kṛtvā — having performed; tīrthe tasmin — at that bathing-place; yathāvidhi — according to rule; tam eva — that very; cintayann — pondering; artham — matter, thing; upāvartata — turned back, returned; vai — indeed; muniḥ — the sage

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.