Valmiki
date unknown (legendary) · Legendary sage honored in India as the "first poet," named by tradition as the author of the Sanskrit epic the Ramayana.
Valmiki is honored in India as the Adi Kavi, the "first poet," and tradition names him as the author of the Ramayana, the great Sanskrit epic of Prince Rama. Nothing about his life is known for certain; what is told about him is traditional or legendary. The Ramayana itself names him as its poet and brings him into the story as a holy man living in a forest hermitage near the Tamasa River, who hears Rama's story from the wise Narada. According to the poem, when Valmiki saw a hunter shoot one of a pair of birds, his grief burst out in a new kind of verse, the shloka, which he then used to tell the whole tale. He teaches the poem to Rama's twin sons, Kusa and Lava. Later legends, not found in the poem, say he had been a robber before he turned to prayer. Scholars think the earliest parts of the Ramayana took shape between the 8th and 4th centuries BC, with additions over the following centuries.
Valmiki is also an author in the library: author page and works.
Faith: A legendary Hindu sage, traditional author of the Ramayana. Source: Wikipedia
Key dates
- Traditional Hears the story of Rama from the sage Narada (according to the Ramayana)
- Traditional Composes the first shloka after seeing a hunter kill a bird (according to the Ramayana)
- 8th–4th century BC Scholars' estimate for the earliest stage of the Ramayana
- Up to 3rd century AD Later layers are added to the epic
Fun facts
- The name Valmiki is understood to mean "from an anthill," and a later legend says an anthill grew up around him while he sat repeating a prayer. (Source: Valmiki (Wikipedia))
In their words
“With equal lines of even feet, With rhythm and time and tone complete, The measured form of words I spoke In shock of grief be termed a śloke.”
Read about them
Grades 9–12
- The Ramayana · In the library
More lives
Aeschylus · Aesop · Apollodorus · Apollonius of Rhodes · Apuleius · Aristophanes
Notes: Valmiki is a legendary figure; his dates and life are unknown. The life events on this page come from the Ramayana itself and later legends, and are labeled as traditional. The died value -400 is a placeholder at the late end of scholars' estimate for the earliest Ramayana (8th-4th century BC), used only for ordering.