Week 3 Story: Legends of Valmiki

Author's Note. The oldest Sanskrit version of the Ramayana is attributed to the poet Valmiki, and he appears as a character in the story too (much like Vyasa, composer of the Mahabharata, also appears in that epic story). In addition to the events connected with Valmiki in the Ramayana, there are also legends about him. So, for this page, I decided to retell in 100-word form some of the stories about the poet Valmiki: one is from Narayan's Ramayana, and the others come from different sources. I was intrigued to see how Narada recurs from story to story! You can read more about both Valmiki and Narada at Wikipedia. I am curious what you think; my goal is to write a Ramayana composed all of 100-word episodes like this. :-)

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Ratnakar the Robber

Ratnakar was a robber, supporting his family by theft and murder.

One day, Ratnakar had robbed a man and was about to kill him. 

"Stop!" said the man, who was the sage Narada in disguise. "Would your wife and children approve of this wicked deed?"

Ratnakar was surprised by this question and went to question his family.

"I support our family by robbery and murder," he told them. "Do you approve?"

"The crime is yours, not mine," said his wife.

Ratnakar's children said the same.

Ratnakar returned and set the man free, and then he renounced his life of crime.

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Ratnakar Becomes Valmiki

After Ratnakar renounced his life of crime, he went into the depths of the forest to live a hermit's life. 

As he sat there, unmoving, deep in meditation, ants built an anthill around him. The anthill, "valmik"in Sanskrit, became his home. Plants wrapped their tendrils around him, and birds nested in his matted hair and beard. 

Meanwhile, he thought only of Brahman, the Cosmic Reality. "All is Brahman, all is God. All this Universe is Brahman, all that live and move and die." 

Years later, he awoke, enlightened, and emerged from the anthill.

That is how Ratnakar became Valmiki.

(Valmiki in the anthill)

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Valmiki Becomes a Poet

Two cranes, devoted to one another, lived by a river near the sage Valmiki's hermitage.
One day as Valmiki watched the couple mating, a hunter shot an arrow from the bushes. One of the cranes fell to the ground, dead, and his mate screamed in grief as she gazed at her beloved's blood-spattered corpse.
In anger and sorrow for the birds, Valmiki cursed the hunter in verse:
O Hunter, because you killed one of these birds
In the midst of their love, you will be infamous forever.
This was the first poem in the world, and Valmiki the first poet.

(krauncha birds)

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Valmiki Learns of Rama from Narada

The sage Narada once came to visit the sage Valmiki.

"I have an important question to ask you," said Valmiki.

"Ask!" replied Narada.

"Tell me who is the perfect man!" Valmiki said. "What man possesses strength and a sense of duty? Someone who is truthful and steadfast in his vows? Someone who is compassionate and wise, handsome and powerful, free from anger and envy but fearsome when he rouses to righteousness?"

"That rare person is Rama," replied Narada. "He was born in the lineage of Ikshvaku, the son of King Dasharatha..."

And Narada then told Valmiki the story of Rama.

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The Ramayanas of Valmiki and Hanuman

Valmiki finally finished his Ramayana.

The goddesses and gods all praised his poem; Valmiki was proud.

But then Narada said, "Hanuman's is better."

Valmiki stared in disbelief.

"Go read it yourself! He lives in a banana orchard in the Himalayas, and he wrote his Ramayana on the banana-tree leaves."

Valmiki climbed the mountains to reach Hanuman's orchard, and there he read Hanuman's Ramayana on the leaves. 

"Hanuman's is better," Valmiki admitted, weeping.

Then Hanuman appeared. "Why are you weeping?" he asked.

Valmiki explained.

Hanuman grabbed the leaves and swallowed them.

"Now your Ramayana is the best," Hanuman told Valmiki, smiling.

~ ~ ~

Bibliography.

Ratnakar the Robber and Ratnakar Becomes Valmiki. Both of these stories appear in "Ratnakar, the Robber-Chief" by Shoshona Devi, in her book Indian Fables and Folklore. OpIndia has an interesting piece on this legend: Repeating this popular story about Maharishi Valmiki can land you in jail. The words on which Valmiki meditates come from the Chandogya Upanishad. In some versions Ratnakar is converted by Narada, in other versions by different holy men. There is also a variant where he chants "Ma Ra" which morphs into the chant "Rama" over time.

Valmiki Becomes a Poet. This is from the Bala Kanda of Valmiki's Ramayana. Here is a link to the Sanskrit of the verses that Valmiki spoke to the hunter; there's even audio you can listen to.

Valmiki Learns of Rama from Narada. This story is inspired by the version in the preface to The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version by R. K. Narayan.

The Ramayanas of Valmiki and Hanuman. I used the legend as told in Hanuman's Ramayan by Devdutt Pattanaik, with illustrations by Nancy Raj. Most versions have Hanuman writing his Ramayana into stones which he smashes or throws into the ocean in order to please Valmiki, but I like this version with the banana-tree leaves.