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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.34
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
1.2.34
na te vāg anṛtā kāvye kā cid atra bhaviṣyati
kuru rāma kathāṃ puṇyāṃ ślokabaddhāṃ manoramām
No word of yours in this poem will anywhere prove untrue; compose the holy, delightful story of Rāma, bound in ślokas.
Words: na — not; te — your; vāg — word, speech; anṛtā — untrue, false; kāvye — in the poem; kā cid — any; atra — here, in this; bhaviṣyati — will be; kuru — make, compose; rāma kathāṃ — the story of Rāma; puṇyāṃ — holy, meritorious; ślokabaddhāṃ — bound in ślokas; manoramām — delightful, charming
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.