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ValmikiWe have 1 book for this author.||Just as the Veda Purusha (Virat Purusha) was born as Dasaratha's earthly son, the Vedas are born from Prachetasa (Valmiki) in the form of The Ramayana||[1]
 Valmiki (Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, vālmīki) is a legendary Hindu sage (maharishi) traditionally regarded as the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself[1]. He was the tenth child of Pracheta. Background
The Rāmāyaṇa, for which Valmiki is famously known for composing, consists of 24,001 verses[2] in seven cantos (kāṇḍas) and tells the story of a prince, Rama of Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon (Rākshasa) king of Lanka, Rāvana. In its current form, the Valmiki Ramayana is dated variously from 500 BC to 100 BC, or about co-eval to early versions of the Mahabhārata.[3] As with most traditional epics, since it has gone through a long process of interpolations and redactions, it is impossible to date it accurately. In the Ramayana he wrote:
Translation: "I bow again and again to Sree Rama who removes (all) obstacles and grants all wealth and pleases all." In the original Valmiki Ramayana, Rama was portrayed as nothing more than an ideal human being, later interpolations reworked the Valmiki Ramayana with King Rama as the supreme deity. In the Valmiki Ramayana the sudra Sambuka is believed to be a threat to the caste system when he practices tapas. Even before Samuka has finished speaking he is beheaded by Rama. This is yet another Brahmin insertion to block the possibility of inter marriage and to maintain the status quo of the caste system. Maharishi Valmiki is accepted by many Indian communities as the author of the Yoga vasistha, this particular piece of work was taught to Rama when he was disillusioned with the world in large. The Yoga Vasistha is an incredible piece of text which discusses a wide array of philosphical issues. Moreover, it appears to have been written over 5000 years ago.[dubious – discuss][4] At his hermitage he taught both males and females. He gave Sita shelter after her banishment from Ayodhya. "Valmiki, Tulsidas, Madhav Kambali of Assam, Kamban of Tamil Nadu, and almost all South Indian composers have been inspired to sing the glory of Rama who was an embodiment of virtue, valour, character, and in short, all human values."[2] Legend of ValmikiValmiki was from a Kirata Bhil community. Valmiki Muni was from a backward caste community and his name before he became the Adi-Kavi (prime poet) who recorded the Ramayana, he was Vailya. He was trained by the backward-caste Narada Muni, who is though to be an avatar of Vishnu. Valmiki once asked Narada, "O Venerable Rishi! Please tell me whether there is a perfect man in this world who is at once virtuous, brave, dutiful, truthful, noble, steadfast in duty, and kind to all beings".[3] Narada replied, "There is such a one, a prince of Ikshvaku's line named Rama. He is virtuous, brave, gentle, and wise. He is a great hero. He loves his subjects immensely. He is a protector of Dharma. He is firm and steadfast. He is just and liberal. He is well-versed in the Vedas and in the science of arms. He is unique in the possession of virtues and matchless in beauty. He is an obedient son, a kind brother, loving husband, a faithful friend, an ideal king, a merciful enemy, and a lover of all living beings. All people adore him." References
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This biographical information was gathered from the Valmiki page, courtesy of the Wikipedia project. BooksHindu literature : Comprising The Book of good counsels, Nala and Damayanti, The Ramayana, and Sakoontala |
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