← 1.2.28 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 2: Grief becomes the first śloka · 1.2.30 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.29

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: still absorbed in the birds' suffering, he repeats the verse. Brahmā confirms that it is a śloka and says that speech arose through his will

1.2.29

tam uvāca tato brahmā prahasan munipuṃgavam
śloka eva tvayā baddho nātra kāryā vicāraṇā

Then Brahmā, smiling, said to that bull among sages: “It is indeed a śloka that you have composed; no doubt need be entertained about this.

Words: tam — him; uvāca — said; tato — then; brahmā — Brahmā; prahasan — smiling, laughing gently; munipuṃgavam — the bull among sages; śloka eva — a śloka indeed; tvayā — by you; baddho — composed, bound; nātra — not here / not in this; kāryā — to be done, entertained; vicāraṇā — doubt, deliberation

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.