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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.7

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

1.2.7

evam ukto bharadvājo vālmīkena mahātmanā
prāyacchata munes tasya valkalaṃ niyato guroḥ

Addressed thus by the great-souled Vālmīki, Bharadvāja, attentive, handed the bark-garment to that sage, his teacher.

Words: evam ukto — addressed thus; bharadvājo — Bharadvāja; vālmīkena — by Vālmīki; mahātmanā — by the great-souled one; prāyacchata — handed over, gave; munes — to the sage; tasya — that; valkalaṃ — the bark-garment; niyato — attentive, self-controlled; guroḥ — of/to his teacher

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.