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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.33
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
1.2.33
vaidehyāś caiva yad vṛttaṃ prakāśaṃ yadi vā rahaḥ
tac cāpy aviditaṃ sarvaṃ viditaṃ te bhaviṣyati
and whatever happened to Vaidehī (Sītā), whether open or hidden — all of that too, though unknown, shall become known to you.
Words: vaidehyāś caiva — and of Vaidehī (Sītā); yad vṛttaṃ — whatever happened; prakāśaṃ — open, manifest; yadi vā — or if; rahaḥ — hidden, secret; tac cāpy — and that too; aviditaṃ — unknown; sarvaṃ — all; viditaṃ — known; te — to you; bhaviṣyati — will become
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.