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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.35

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: Brahmā promises that the story will endure as long as mountains and rivers, and that Vālmīki will dwell in his worlds while it circulates

1.2.35

yāvat sthāsyanti girayaḥ saritaś ca mahītale
tāvad rāmāyaṇakathā lokeṣu pracariṣyati

As long as the mountains and rivers shall endure upon the earth, so long will the tale of the Rāmāyaṇa circulate among the worlds.

Words: yāvat — as long as; sthāsyanti — will stand, endure; girayaḥ — the mountains; saritaś ca — and the rivers; mahītale — on the earth; tāvad — so long; rāmāyaṇakathā — the tale of the Rāmāyaṇa; lokeṣu — among the worlds, peoples; pracariṣyati — will circulate, spread

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.