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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.25

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

1.2.25

athopaviśya bhagavān āsane paramārcite
vālmīkaye maharṣaye saṃdideśāsanaṃ tataḥ

Then the venerable one, having seated himself on a highly honoured seat, thereupon directed the great sage Vālmīki to a seat.

Words: athopaviśya — then having sat down; bhagavān — the venerable one; āsane — on a seat; paramārcite — highly honoured; vālmīkaye — to Vālmīki; maharṣaye — to the great sage; saṃdideśāsanaṃ — directed (him) to a seat; tataḥ — then

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.