In the previous episode we saw the significance of Lord Rama’s incarnation and with that, we thus commence the sequence of activities that lead Valmiki Maharishi to start writing the Ramayana story. There are three important events that took place. Today I shall quickly explain all the three events in brief and in further episodes we shall start seeing each of the three in detail.
The first event is the meeting between Valmiki Maharishi and Saint Narada. As I’ve mentioned before, Valmiki Maharishi’s ashram is at a place called Bittur near Kanpur in the present day Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Sage Bharadwaja was Valmiki Maharishi’s “Sishya” (student). Both of them were residing in the ashram when one day the great sage Naarada Maharishi comes to visit Valmiki and his student Bharadwaaja. Both of them fall on the feet of the great Naarada Maharishi and seek his blessings. After the initial offerings and respects given by Valmiki Maharishi to sage Narada, Vaalmiki stands up and asks Naarada a set of sixteen questions and Naarada answers them. It is from this point the Valmiki Ramayana starts. Sage Naarada replies to Valmiki’s sixteen questions and further narrates the entire Ramayana story within just thirty-two slokas (verses). Naarada Maharishi says to Valmiki to just keep all these things in mind, and when the apt time comes, it can be taken forward.
After Sage Naarada leaves the ashram, Valmiki Maharishi and Bharadwaja go together to the river “Tamasaa” (A tributary of river Ganges) to take a bath. During this time, the second event takes place, wherein Valmiki and Bharadwaja go into a beautiful lawn and see two “Krauncha birds” sitting at a branch of a tree. Suddenly a hunter comes and shoots one of the birds with his sharp arrow and the poor bird falls on the ground dead. Seeing this, Valmiki Maharishi gets terribly angry and curses the hunter in the form of a “Sloka” and in a hurry, returns back to his ashram along with Sage Bharadwaaja.
On returning back, Valmiki Maharishi sits down and analyses the “Sloka” that he uttered in the form of a curse to the hunter. It is to be noted that he had never composed a sloka in his life till this time, and he was surprised that all the grammatical rules and regulations pertaining to the sloka were perfectly applied to it! At this point of time, Lord Brahma (The Universal Creator), comes to Valmiki’s ashram. Here’s the third event. Lord Brahma looks at Valmiki Maharishi for a moment and asks him why does he seem terribly furious. Valmiki Maharishi narrates what had happened in the lawn, and says that he had cursed a hunter for his misdeed. Hearing to this, Lord Brahma says that it’s only because of his grace and Lord Vishnu’s Will, that the “Sloka” was born. Thus, Lord Brahma changes a few words in that Sloka and initiates Valmiki Maharishi into writing the Ramayana story in detail. With the short version of the Ramayana (also called as “Samkshepa Ramayana”) narrated by Sage Naarada and also with the divine grace of Lord Brahma, Valmiki Maharishi sits down and begins to write the Ramayana story in an elaborated form, and this is how the Ramayana that we have today was born!
Now with this brief knowledge of all the three events, we shall now start witnessing all of them in detail. We shall begin with the conversation between Valmiki Maharishi and the great Sage Naarada. What did Valmiki Maharishi ask Naarada and what did he reply? Let’s find out in the next episode!
The Indian Dharma 