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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.37

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 vanishes → the amazed disciples repeat the verse, recognizing how grief has taken the form of a śloka → Vālmīki resolves to use that form for the whole poem and begins composing.

1.2.37

ity uktvā bhagavān brahmā tatraivāntaradhīyata
tataḥ saśiṣyo vālmīkir munir vismayam āyayau

Having spoken thus, the venerable Brahmā vanished right there; and then the sage Vālmīki, with his disciples, was filled with wonder.

Words: ity uktvā — having spoken thus; bhagavān brahmā — the venerable Brahmā; tatraivāntaradhīyata — vanished right there; tataḥ — then; saśiṣyo — together with his disciples; vālmīkir — Vālmīki; munir — the sage; vismayam — wonder, amazement; āyayau — came to, attained

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.