Valmiki is the author of the original Ramayana. On the surface such a prime originator simply isn't possible from the extremely unpromising raw material that Valmiki was. He began life as a bandit in a forest, with none of the virtues of Robin Hood and all the vices of such a calling. He seems to have been a hunter who decided that hunting men and looting them was more profitable. In later years, as the caste system ossified around the mind of India, it was felt to be very distressing that the great saint had such a low caste origin. A theory was put out that he was actually a fallen brahman who took to banditry because he was affronted by jealous peers and driven to this extremity by social boycott. That theory won't wash. It is in any case only a variation of the Angulimala legend in Buddhist texts. I personally have always felt that Valmiki climbing out of this caste role and achieving enlightenment was an even greater achievement than writing the Ramayana. It is not all that rare however. As mentioned Angulimala too gave up killing and looting and achieved nirvana. In the sixteenth century the great Miyamoto Musashi provides a similar example. By the time he was 30 he had killed 65 people, yet when he died at the age of 65 he was universally honored as the Kensai- the sword saint. Valmiki is perhaps the first example of the possibility of such a transformation. We are talking about events that occurred a good five thousand years ago - if they occurred at all. For there is no great historical evidence for any of Valmiki's life. However in India tradition has always been rather accurate. It took the 20th century and the discovery of Megasthenes' Indica to prove that the story of Chandragupta Maurya, always a live one in the popular mind, was indeed true and not a fable. We do know that a poet, called Valmiki, wrote the Ramayana, or at least most of it. The style and content is unmistakably that of a single person. These are the legends that grew up around that unknown author. As the other two examples quoted show, such conversions are not only held to be possible they have actually taken place. Even if immense quibbling is indulged in and Valmiki's story held to be not factually true, it is nevertheless mythically and spiritually true. When we first come across our saint to be he is a robber bandit called Ratnakar. He has a family he supports with his violent ways, consisting of parents, wife and children. It is a good life. The path through the forest is on one of the main trade and pilgrimage routes, and his strength, skill and knowledge of the local terrain ensure that he is never harmed. One day he bites off more than he can chew however. The Saptarishis, the Great Seven Sages of Hindu tradition pass through the forest and he challenges them. They halt and he is stunned, because there is no fear in a potential victim for the first time that he has experienced. His curiosity gets the better of him and he asks why they do not fear him. The answer is that they are firm in their spiritual achievements, have grounded themselves in the Atma and have no fear of bodily hurt. As for possessions they hardly have any and it is no loss even if they are looted. The bandit is nonplussed. He had never thought such a view of life possible. For him it was all greed and grasp, and too bad for him who was not strong enough to do so. Then they ask him if he is aware that he is piling up an immense load of negative karma with his daily acts of violence. Ratnakar is aware, but he says that he is no sinner, he is doing this as part of his duty, his dharma to provide for his family and therefore there is no sin in this. The rishis ask him if his family shares this pleasing philosophy. He has sudden doubts and makes them swear they will not budge till he returns with the assurance of this family that they do not consider him a sinner and willingly share his karma. At the happy home however, his illusions go up in smoke pretty quickly. His parents announce that he has to take care of them as he was taken care of and if there is any sin incurred in that that is his business not theirs. At their time of life they could not accumulate any more karma to their already heavy load. His wife says that she has no sin to worry about. Her duty is to accept anything her husband does. As long as she does that, she is sinless and therefore her husband's karma is his own and she cannot share in them. His children too turn themselves against him. It is only too obvious that the entire family was heartily ashamed of this man and held him in contempt and he was too simple to see it. Ratnakar was revolted. He had been living in a manner worse than any animal and accepting that it was for the sake of those who were dependent upon him. When contempt and a refusal to share any of the burden was his only lot he immediately spurns his family and goes back to the rishis. They knew well what would happen, being astute observers of human nature. They initiate the former bandit into the spiritual path and give him the sacred name of Rammer to constantly do japa with. So violent is Ratnakar's psyche still however that he cannot pronounce the sacred name. The rishis tell him to say "Mara" instead. Mara is to kill and it is also the name of the only equivalent of the devil that the ancient Indians had. This name he pronounces with gusto. As the endless chain of repetition continues however, "Mara" imperceptibly starts becoming "Rama". So hypnotic is the effect that Ratnakar goes into a trance and only the vibration of the divine name keeps him alive. An anthill grows up around his stiff body and covers it from sight. Years later the rishis return and set him free from this prison. The years of penance have purged him and he is now Valmiki, he who emerged from the Valmik- the anthill. He is instantly recognized as a great saint. One day he was walking along a riverbank and happened to observe two doves copulating. (Sanskrit has always been a very frank and unashamed language, to the intense discomfort of present day devotees). The charmingly naïve sight made his heart gladden with pleasure, for all Indian saints were intensely aware of the presence of the life force, here manifested most obviously. At the moment an arrow went through those poor birds, shot by a hunter who had no sporting instincts at all but a very good eye for the main chance. Valmiki was appalled at this cruelty and an astonishing sequence of words flowed from his mouth in a great curse. It is the most terrible curse in all literature. "Wretch without mercy, you would not stay your killing hand even for love. Seek therefore all your life, with the intensity and desire of the sexual act, a peace denied to you." This according to Hindu tradition was the first expression of poetry in the universe- the famous words beginning Ma Nishada Pratishtanta Tvamagamam Shasvati Sama. Poetry therefore is a transforming experience of man, not a gift of the gods. As these unusual words were driven by his grief, or shoka, they came to be called shlokas or verses. Valmiki was instantly aware that he had done something awesome. Words had never been used before like this and they had a power when aligned in rhythmic sequence that never existed in plain speech. He had a vision or a visit from Brahma, who urged him to use this new skill of his to tell the story to the perfect man, Rama. That became the great epic poem, the Ramayana and it is only fitting that it is also one of the greatest nature poems ever written too. It is also interesting in that Valmiki and Vyasa seem to be the only saints in history who wrote epics, not texts of philosophies. It is as if Merlin suddenly sat down and began to dictate a Life of Arthur. It is also worth noting that poetry is held as something very different from revelation. The Vedas have some beautiful poetry but they are poetic in style by accident not by design. The verses of the Veda are "seen", but the epics are composed. This is a vital difference. Valmiki's sloka also ensured that almost all literature in India was inevitably written in poetry including texts on algebra! It is a unique influence upon the literature of a country. Traditionally he is supposed to have taught this poem to the sons of Rama who were born in his hermitage. Rama is supposed to have banished a pregnant Sita because of slander. They then recite the entire poem at their father's court while all the people involved are unaware of their relationships with each other. This section of the myth has deep resonance in India but there is no evidence for it in Valmiki himself. The last book of the epic where these distressing events are supposedly taking place is manifestly not written by Valmiki and is a brazen interpolation. (Our introduction to the Ramayana covers this point). Once the writing of the epic is over Valmiki becomes a shadowy figure. However he received a promise from Brahma that as long as the Himalayas endure, so long will his great poetical work. A slight exaggeration perhaps but not so far from the mark. As long as there will be a Hindu alive, so will the Ramayana. - Rohit Arya Archive