← 1.2.40 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 2: Grief becomes the first śloka

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.41

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.

1.2.41

udāravṛttārthapadair manoramais tadāsya rāmasya cakāra kīrtimān
samākṣaraiḥ ślokaśatair yaśasvino yaśaskaraṃ kāvyam udāradhīr muniḥ

Then that renowned, noble-minded sage composed, with delightful words of lofty conduct and meaning, in hundreds of ślokas of equal syllables, a glory-bestowing poem of the illustrious Rāma.

Words: udāravṛttārthapadair — with words of lofty conduct and meaning; manoramais — delightful; tadāsya — then his / of this; rāmasya — of Rāma; cakāra — made, composed; kīrtimān — the renowned one; samākṣaraiḥ — of equal syllables; ślokaśatair — with hundreds of ślokas; yaśasvino — of the illustrious one; yaśaskaraṃ — glory-bestowing; kāvyam — poem; udāradhīr — the noble-minded one; muniḥ — the sage

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.