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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.38

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.

1.2.38

tasya śiṣyās tataḥ sarve jaguḥ ślokam imaṃ punaḥ
muhur muhuḥ prīyamāṇāḥ prāhuś ca bhṛśavismitāḥ

Then all his disciples chanted this śloka again; delighting in it again and again, greatly amazed, they said:

Words: tasya — his; śiṣyās — the disciples; tataḥ — then; sarve — all; jaguḥ — chanted, sang; ślokam imaṃ — this śloka; punaḥ — again; muhur muhuḥ — again and again; prīyamāṇāḥ — delighting, being pleased; prāhuś ca — and said; bhṛśavismitāḥ — greatly amazed

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.