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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.23

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: Brahmā appears → Vālmīki rises in astonishment, joins his palms, and offers water for the feet, the guest-offering, a seat, and reverent greetings → after Brahmā sits, Vālmīki sits at his invitation

1.2.23

vālmīkir atha taṃ dṛṣṭvā sahasotthāya vāg yataḥ
prāñjaliḥ prayato bhūtvā tasthau paramavismitaḥ

Then Vālmīki, seeing him, at once rose up, his speech stilled; joining his palms and composing himself, he stood in utter amazement.

Words: vālmīkir — Vālmīki; atha — then; taṃ — him; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; sahasotthāya — suddenly rising up; vāg yataḥ — his speech restrained; prāñjaliḥ — with palms joined; prayato — reverent, composed; bhūtvā — having become; tasthau — stood; paramavismitaḥ — greatly amazed

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.