Krauñca Pāda and the Origin of the Rāmāyaṇa

The Rāmāyaṇa began at the river Tamasā. Vālmīki Maharshi saw a hunter slay a male Krauñca bird, and sorrow for the bird rose in him as karuṇā (compassion). From that sorrow came the first śloka ever spoken in Sanskrit poetry. Brahmā then told Vālmīki to compose the whole story of Rāma, and from that grew the Rāmāyaṇa, the beloved itihāsa (sacred history) of Bhārata. The account is in the Bāla Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Chapters 2 and 3.

At the river Tamasā

Vālmīki had received the saṃkshepa Rāmāyaṇa (the short Rāmāyaṇa) from the devarshi Nārada. He bade Nārada farewell and set out with his disciple Bharadvāja for the river Tamasā, to take his midday bath. Vālmīki himself praised the Tamasā for its clear water: “pure as the mind of a sant, without the slightest mud.” The words show how pure the moment was that was about to come.

The slaying of the Krauñca bird

At the river’s edge Vālmīki saw a pair of Krauñca birds (a kind of curlew or heron) moving together in loving union. They called to each other in sweet voices. Their joy was whole and undisturbed.

Then a kirāta (hunter) of cruel nature, who harmed living beings without cause as a habit, shot the male bird with an arrow. The male Krauñca fell to the ground, blood flowing from his wounds, writhing in death. The female had strong wings. Until that moment she had been lost in the joy of union. She watched her husband dying and cried out in anguish, a sound of heartbreak.

Karuṇā rises in Vālmīki

The sight of the fallen bird and the cry of the female pierced the heart of Vālmīki, who held to dharma. Karuṇā, the rasa (flavour) of compassion, flooded him. Out of that overflow, without planning or composing, a śloka came from his mouth.

Mā nishāda pratishṭhāṃ tvam agamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ |
yat krauñcamithunād ekam avadhīḥ kāmamohitam ||

Meaning: “O nishāda! You shall not gain pratishṭhā (lasting fame or a firm place) for endless years, you who slew one of this pair of Krauñca birds while they were joined in love.”

Vālmīki knows it is a śloka

Right after speaking, Vālmīki’s keen mind began to look at what he had said. He asked, “What is this that grief has made me speak?” He saw that his words had these marks:

• Four equal pādas (quarters), each of the same number of syllables.
• A natural flow (laya) that suits singing with music (vādya-yukta gāna).
• The form of the anushṭubh metre.

He knew it for a true śloka, the first ever composed. His disciple Bharadvāja took it in and learned it by heart with joy. Vālmīki finished his bath and returned to his āśrama, carrying the mystery of the śloka in his mind. This is in the Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 2.

Brahmā’s visit

Vālmīki sat thinking on the meaning of the śloka. Brahmā himself, the maker of creation (sṛshṭikartā), lord of the worlds (lokapati), full of great radiance (mahā-tejas), came to his āśrama. Vālmīki was filled with wonder and welcomed Brahmā with every honour.

After the usual greetings, Brahmā saw that Vālmīki’s mind was still held by the Krauñca bird. He said:

“What came out of you in your grief was entirely by my will. Be at ease. What rose from you was a śloka, the very first. Now compose the whole story of Rāma, exactly as Nārada told it to you. Everything that happened in Rāma’s life, all that was done openly and in private, all that is known and unknown, make it all plain. Not one word you speak will be untrue.”

Brahmā then declared that the Rāmāyaṇa would live for ever: “As long as the mountains and oceans stand on the earth, so long will the story of Rāma be told in the world.” This is in the Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 2.

The composition of the Rāmāyaṇa

After Brahmā left, Vālmīki entered a state of deep meditation and vision. By the power of yoga he saw the whole story of Rāma (Rāma-kathā) unfold before his inner eye. He saw the lives of Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa, their friends and enemies, their words and their silences, their public acts and private thoughts. He saw even what took place when they were alone. His mind became the vessel of this full and perfect vision.

From this vision he composed the Rāmāyaṇa: 7 kāṇḍas, 500 sargas and 24,000 ślokas. The phalaśruti (the verses telling the fruit of reading) declares that it equals the Vedas in power to cleanse and to free. This is in the Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 3.

A commentarial reading of the first śloka

A commentarial tradition, as recorded in the Bāla Kāṇḍa, gives a deeper reading. The “nishāda” who is addressed is not only the hunter but Rāvaṇa himself, the great adharmī (one who goes against dharma) who seized Sītā in the grip of kāma (desire). The words “mā pratishṭhāṃ agamaḥ” became a blessing for Śrī Rāma. They proclaim that Rāma alone would gain śāśvata pratishṭhā, lasting fame.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 2 (the Tamasā, the Krauñca bird, the first śloka, Brahmā’s visit)
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 3 (the composition of the Rāmāyaṇa)