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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.31

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 instructs Vālmīki to compose Rāma's entire story as heard from Nārada → hidden as well as public events concerning Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Sītā, and the rākṣasas will become known to him, and his poem will contain no falsehood

1.2.31

dharmātmano guṇavato loke rāmasya dhīmataḥ
vṛttaṃ kathaya dhīrasya yathā te nāradāc chrutam

Tell the story of Rāma — righteous, virtuous, wise, and steadfast in the world — just as you heard it from Nārada.

Words: dharmātmano — of the righteous-souled; guṇavato — virtuous; loke — in the world; rāmasya — of Rāma; dhīmataḥ — wise; vṛttaṃ — the story, doings; kathaya — tell, relate; dhīrasya — of the steadfast one; yathā — just as; te — by you; nāradāc chrutam — heard from Nārada

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.