Valmiki Ramayana
One day, during Brahma Muhurta (the early hours before sunrise), Sage Valmiki was going to the banks of the Ganga for his bath and daily rituals. His disciple, Sage Bharadwaja, accompanied him carrying his garments. On the way, they came across the river Tamasa. Sage Valmiki found its waters pure and serene. He remarked to Bharadwaja, “The waters of this river are as pure as the heart of a sinless man. Today, I shall bathe here.”
One day, during Brahma Muhurta (the early hours before sunrise), Sage Valmiki was going to the banks of the Ganga for his bath and daily rituals. His disciple, Sage Bharadwaja, accompanied him carrying his garments. On the way, they came across the river Tamasa. Sage Valmiki found its waters pure and serene. He remarked to Bharadwaja, “The waters of this river are as pure as the heart of a sinless man. Today, I shall bathe here.”
As Sage Valmiki was searching for a suitable spot to enter the river, he noticed a pair of krauncha birds (cranes) engaged in courtship. Seeing them together in love filled even Valmiki’s heart with joy. Suddenly, an arrow struck the male bird, and he fell from the tree in pain, crying out. The female bird, overwhelmed with sorrow, began to wail.
Sage Valmiki was stunned by this tragic scene. At that very moment, the hunter who had shot the bird came running forward.
Overcome with grief and anger, words of a curse spontaneously flowed from Sage Valmiki’s lips in Sanskrit:
“Mā niṣāda pratiṣṭhāṁ tvamagamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ
yat krauñcamithunādekam avadhīḥ kāmamohitam.”
Overcome with grief and anger, words of a curse spontaneously flowed from Sage Valmiki’s lips in Sanskrit:
“Mā niṣāda pratiṣṭhāṁ tvamagamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ
yat krauñcamithunādekam avadhīḥ kāmamohitam.”
Meaning:
“O hunter! You shall never attain eternal peace, for you killed one of the krauncha birds while it was absorbed in love and companionship.”
👉 This verse, born out of deep compassion and sorrow, became the very first śloka (metrical verse) of Sanskrit literature and marked the beginning of the epic Valmiki Ramayana.
“O hunter! You shall never attain eternal peace, for you killed one of the krauncha birds while it was absorbed in love and companionship.”
👉 This verse, born out of deep compassion and sorrow, became the very first śloka (metrical verse) of Sanskrit literature and marked the beginning of the epic Valmiki Ramayana.
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