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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.32

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

1.2.32

rahasyaṃ ca prakāśaṃ ca yad vṛttaṃ tasya dhīmataḥ
rāmasya saha saumitre rākṣasānāṃ ca sarvaśaḥ

Whatever befell that wise Rāma, secret or open — together with Saumitri (Lakṣmaṇa), and all that concerns the rākṣasas —

Words: rahasyaṃ ca — and (what is) secret; prakāśaṃ ca — and (what is) open; yad vṛttaṃ — whatever happened; tasya dhīmataḥ — of that wise one; rāmasya — of Rāma; saha saumitre — together with Saumitri (Lakṣmaṇa); rākṣasānāṃ ca — and of the rākṣasas; sarvaśaḥ — in every way, wholly

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.