Valmiki
Valmikism is based on Valmiki's teachings | |
---|---|
Notable work(s) | Ramayana Yoga Vasistha Valmiki Samhita |
Known for | Composing the Ramayana Guru of Lava and Kusha Avatar of Brahma |
Honors |
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Valmiki (
The Ramayana, originally written by Valmiki, consists of 24,000 shlokas and seven cantos (kaṇḍas).[6] The Ramayana is composed of about 480,002 words, being a quarter of the length of the full text of the Mahabharata or about four times the length of the Iliad. The Ramayana tells the story of a prince, Rama of the city of Ayodhya in the Kingdom of Kosala, whose wife Sita is abducted by Ravana, the demon-king (Rakshasa) of Lanka. The scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE,[7][8] and later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE,[9] although original date of composition is unknown. As with many traditional epics, it has gone through a process of interpolations and redactions, making it impossible to date accurately.
British satirist
Early life
Valmiki was born as Agni Sharma to a Brahmin named Pracheta (also known as Sumali) of Bhrigu gotra.[13][14] His birth place was in present day Western Bihar and near Gangetic plains. The place, Valmiki Nagar is named after him. According to legend he once met the great sage Narada and had a discourse with him on his duties. Moved by Narada's words, Agni Sharma began to perform penance and chanted the word "Mara" which meant "die". As he performed his penance for several years, the word became "Rama", a name of the god Vishnu. Huge anthills formed around Agni Sharma and this earned him the name of Valmiki. Agni Sharma, rechristened as Valmiki, learnt the scriptures from Narada and became the foremost of ascetics, revered by everyone.
There also exist some legends about Valmiki having been a thief before turning into a rishi. The Nagara Khanda of the
The first shloka
Valmiki was going to the river Ganges for his daily ablutions. A disciple by the name
Emerging spontaneously from Valmiki's rage and grief, this couplet is considered the first
Role in Ramayana
Valmiki played an important role in Uttarakāṇḍa, the last chapter of the epic Ramayana. The Uttarakāṇḍa may not have been originally worked by Valmiki. The scholars Robert and Sally Goldman, for example, have pointed out: "Much of the narrative focuses on figures other than Rāma and is narrated only indirectly by Vālmīki, being placed in the mouths of other figures such as Agastya."[19] It is believed to have been taken up from Sesha Ramayana. [citation needed] According to the legend, Rama sent Sita to the forest. Sita finds refuge in Sage Valmiki's ashram, where she gives birth to twin boys Lava and Kusha. Lava and Kusha were Valmiki's first disciples, to whom he taught the Ramayana. Bala Kanda of the epic also tells the story of Valmiki narrating the Ramayana to Lava and Kusha, who become his disciples.[20]
Role in Mahabharata
Valmiki was alive during the Reincarnation
Vishnudharmottara Purana says that Valmiki was born in the
Pragat Diwas
The full moon day of Hindu month of Ashvin is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the poet. The day is also known as Pargat Diwas or Valmiki Jayanti, and is a major festival of the followers of the Balmiki religious sect of Hinduism.[24]
Temples
The
In the Siddhar tradition of Tamil Nadu, Valmiki is known as Vanmeegar and is revered as one of the 18 esteemed Siddhars of yore.[26] The Ettukudi Murugan Temple, Nagapattinam is home to his Jeeva Samadhi.[27]
An area in
Shree Valmiki Mata Maha Samsthana is a temple dedicated to Valmiki in Rajanahalli, Karnataka.
Valmiki Ashram, a site considered to be the original ashram of Valmiki, is located in Chitwan district of Nepal.[30] The site is near the Triveni Dham pilgrimage site.[31]
In popular culture
Several Indian films have been made on the life of the poet, beginning with G. V. Sane's Valmiki (1921); it was followed by Surendra Narayan Roy's Ratnakar (1921),
Bhatt's film which starred Suresh Oberoi in the title role remains unreleased after a case was filed against Oberoi for remarks deemed offensive by members of the Valmiki caste in India.
There is also a historical series on his life, written by Nikhil Ravindra Kuwar. [33]
See also
- Valmiki Samhita
- Balmiki caste
- Maithili Maha Upanishad
- Chuhra
- Rama
- Vyasa
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ Srinivasha Shastri. Ramayana of Valmiki-With Three Ancient Commentaries-: Tilaka of Rama, Ramayanasiromani of Sivasahaya and Bhusana of Govindaraja. p. 9.
- ^ "Valmiki" Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-261-0655-4.
- ISBN 978-969-425-096-0.
- ISBN 0-691-01485-X.
- ^ "Valmiki Ramayan". valmikiramayan.net. Desiraju Hanumanta Rao & K. M. K. Murthy. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ Goldman 1984, p. 20–22.
- ^ Pattanaik, Devdutt (8 August 2020). "Was Ram born in Ayodhya". mumbaimirror. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ISBN 90-04-10260-4.
- LCCN 54-35716.
- ^ Menen (1954). "The Indian Enlightenment", p.9.
- ^ Menen (1954). "The Heritage of the Gluttons", p.81.
- ^ Vishwanath S. Naravane (1998). Sages, Nymphs, and Deities: Excursions in Indian Mythology. The Author. p. 86.
- ISBN 9788126906154.
- ^ "The Skanda Purana, Nagara Khanda, Chapter 124, Creation of Mukhara Tirtha". Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- ^ The Skanda Purana, Part 17, (Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology Series, Vol. LXV). Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2002. p. 506. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- ^ Sacred-Texts.com Archived 7 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine IAST encoded transliteration (modified from original source to accurately reflect sandhi rules)
- ^ Buck, William and van Nooten, B. A. Ramayana. 2000, page 7
- ^ The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: The Complete English Translation, ed. Robert P. Goldman and Sally J. Sutherland Goldman, Princeton Univ. Press, 2021, p. 19. ISBN 978-0-691-20686-8.
- ^ Rao, T. S. Sha ma; Litent (1 January 2014). Lava Kusha. Litent.
- ^ "The Mahabharata, Book 13: Anusasana Parva: Anusasanika Parva: Section XVIII". sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ Mythology of Vishnu and His Incarnations by Manohar Laxman Varadpande (2009), p. 166.
- ^ "When is Tulsidas Jayanti; why is it celebrated?". The Statesman. 4 July 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ Lakhanpal, Ujjwala (19 October 2021). "Valmiki Jayanti 2021 Date: History, Significance and Puja Timings". TheQuint. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.
- ^ "Siddhar Charithiram Vanmikar". anaadi.org/blog. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "18 Siddhars". satsang-darshan.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "Archive News". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "Maharishi Valmiki temple". Columbo Post. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "माडीको मणि वाल्मीकि आश्रम चेपुवामा". Karobar Daily. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ "चितवनको वाल्मीकिको साधनाभूमि र सीता आएर बसेको स्थल वाल्मीकि आश्रम Nepalpatra". nepalpatra.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-135-94318-9.
- ^ a b Suresh Oberoi and Ors v. Dev Singh Assur and Ors [1991] INPBHC 10311 (1 February 1991), High Court (Punjab and Haryana, India)
Sources
- Goldman, R. P. (1984). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India, Volume I: Balakāṇḍa. Princeton University Press. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
External links
- Quotations related to Valmiki at Wikiquote
- Media related to Valmiki at Wikimedia Commons
- Works by or about Valmiki at Wikisource
- Works by Valmiki at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Valmiki at Internet Archive
- Works by Valmiki at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)