Valmiki Ramayana

What the Valmiki Ramayana is

The Valmiki Ramayana tells the story of Shri Ram in Sanskrit, from His birth in Ayodhya through exile, the rescue of Mata Sita and His reign. Composed by Maharshi Valmiki, it is honoured as the Adi Kavya, the first poem. Tradition counts about 24,000 shlokas in its seven kandas.

The word kavya means poetry. Here, poetry carries the account of Shri Ram's life. Maharshi Valmiki is called the Adi Kavi, the first poet. Tradition relates that his first shloka arose from grief when a hunter killed one of a pair of krauncha birds beside the Tamasa river. Lava and Kusha, the sons of Shri Ram and Mata Sita, learn the poem from him and sing it.

The seven kandas unfold in order: Bala, Ayodhya, Aranya, Kishkindha, Sundara, Yuddha and Uttara. Yuddha Kanda is also called Lanka Kanda. Each kanda is divided into sargas, or chapters, allowing us to read the events in sequence and give each episode our attention.

Here, all seven kandas and 648 sargas are available, with the original Sanskrit and Hindi or English meaning from the Gita Press editions. Begin with Bala Kanda and read a little each day. Let the meaning receive as much attention as the words. To continue reading on the phone, the free Ramayan app includes both the Valmiki Ramayana and the Ramcharitmanas, with offline reading and bookmarks.