Valmiki
Valmiki ( Sanskrit : वाल्मीकि Vālmīki) is the author of the Indian epic Ramayana .
The historicity of Valmiki is not certain, its lifetime depends on the dating of the epic. The place of his hermitage is given in today's Chitrakut ( Banda district in Uttar Pradesh ).
According to tradition, Valmiki was the head of a band of robbers in his youth . After meeting the mythical sage Narada , he changed his mind. Shortly after he watched the river Tamasa log-pairing curlew pair . A hunter killed the male, whereupon Valmiki cursed him in verse:
You will find no rest in the long years of eternity, because you killed this unsuspecting bird in love.
So he invented the Shloka , the meter of the Ramayana. The god Brahma then asked him to use this meter to glorify the deeds of Rama .
In his hermitage, Valmiki was visited by the exiled Sita . There she gave birth to the twins Kusha ("grass") and Lava ("cut"). Valmiki raised the two sons of Rama and taught them the Ramayana.
literature
- Hans Wilhelm Haussig (Ed.): Gods and Myths of the Indian Subcontinent (= Dictionary of Mythology . Department 1: The ancient civilized peoples. Volume 5). Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-12-909850-X .
- John Dowson : Hindu Mythology & Religion . Routledge, London 1953.
- Leendert Antonius van Daalen: Valmiki's Sanskrit (= Orientalia Rheno-Traiectina , XXV). Brill, Leiden 1980.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Johann Gottlieb Rhode: About religious education, mythology and philosophy of the Hindus. Brockhaus 1827.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Valmiki |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Author of the Indian epic epic Ramayana |
| DATE OF BIRTH | between 6th century BC BC and 2nd century |
| DATE OF DEATH | between 5th century BC BC and 3rd century |