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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.40

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.

1.2.40

tasya buddhir iyaṃ jātā vālmīker bhāvitātmanaḥ
kṛtsnaṃ rāmāyaṇaṃ kāvyam īdṛśaiḥ karavāṇy aham

This thought arose in Vālmīki, whose soul was purified: “Let me compose the whole Rāmāyaṇa poem in verses such as this.”

Words: tasya — his; buddhir iyaṃ — this thought; jātā — arose, was born; vālmīker — of Vālmīki; bhāvitātmanaḥ — of purified soul; kṛtsnaṃ — whole, entire; rāmāyaṇaṃ kāvyam — the Rāmāyaṇa poem; īdṛśaiḥ — in such (verses); karavāṇy aham — let me make

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.