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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.4

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: Vālmīki goes to the Tamasā near the Gaṅgā → he points out a clear, mud-free bathing place to his disciple Bharadvāja, comparing its water to a good person's mind, and asks for his bark garment

1.2.4

sa tu tīraṃ samāsādya tamasāyā mahāmuniḥ
śiṣyam āha sthitaṃ pārśve dṛṣṭvā tīrtham akardamam

Reaching the bank of the Tamasā, the great sage, seeing a bathing-spot free of mud, spoke to the disciple standing at his side:

Words: sa tu — and he; tīraṃ — the bank; samāsādya — having reached; tamasāyā — of the Tamasā; mahāmuniḥ — the great sage; śiṣyam — to the disciple; āha — said; sthitaṃ — standing; pārśve — at his side; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; tīrtham — the bathing-place, ford; akardamam — free of mud, unmuddied

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.