रामायण is considered to be the first poetic composition in the world or at least in India, and hence it is called the आदि काव्य (First Epic). It is an epic as it contains descriptions and references to ancient themes. वाल्मीकि is its author, and hence वाल्मीकि is known as the 'Ādi kavi" also. वाल्मीकि and श्री राम were contemporaries. During his life in exile in the forest राम visited वाल्मीकी 's आश्रम . It was in this आश्रम that सीता lived after being abandoned by राम . The connection in many ways of the life of वाल्मीकि with the 'Rāma story' was an incentive for him to write the रामायण .

Composing of रामायण

Once while returning from the river तमसा वाल्मीकि witnessed a hunter shooting down one of a क्रौञ्च (a kind of bird) couple. The intense emotion created by the incident burst out as follows in verse form.

मानिषादप्रतिष्ठांत्वमगमःशाश्वतीःसमाःयत्क्रौञ्चमिथुनादेकमवधीःकाममोहितम्।॥

Immediately ब्रह्मा appeared on the scene and advised वाल्मीकि to write the story of राम in the same pattern as that verse. ब्रह्मा taught him about the past and the future of the history of राम . As सीता , कुश , and लव were living in his आश्रम वाल्मीकि was well in the know about the present. In the above background वाल्मीकि completed writing the रामायण Story in 24,000 verses. The epic is divided into seven काण्डस् (sections) of five hundred chapters. The seven sections are the बालकाण्ड , the अयोध्याकाण्ड , the अरण्य काण्ड , the किष्किन्धा काण्ड , the सुन्दर काण्ड , the युद्ध काण्ड and the उत्तरकाण्ड .

वाल्मीकि taught the poem to लव and कुश and when they went with वाल्मीकि to अयोध्या during the अश्वमेधयज्ञ of श्री राम , they sang the poem in the open assembly there.

Different views about the author

Tradition ascribes the authorship of the रामायण to वाल्मीकि . But, western scholars hold the view that a part of बालकाण्ड and the whole of उत्तरकाण्ड are interpolations of a future date. The following are the reasons for this view.

Two different texts are found for cantos one and three of बालकाण्ड . In one of them many of the stories mentioned in the other are missing. It may, therefore, be surmised that the two texts were composed during different periods.

In the early texts of रामायण stories like गङ्गावतरणम् are not to be found. So they must be interpolations of a later period.

Only in काण्डस् one and seven is श्री राम treated as an incarnation. In the other काण्डस् he is considered in the capacity of a hero only.

उत्तरकाण्ड is not to be found among the early translations of रामायण into other languages.

In the बालकाण्ड it is stated that वाल्मीकि composed the रामायण , taught it to कुश and लव , and that they recited the whole poem before श्री राम at अयोध्या . Many of the things mentioned in this काण्ड are repeated in उत्तरकाण्ड , which, therefore, must have been written by someone else.

The period of रामायण

According to Indian belief श्री राम lived at the end of त्रेतायुग , which came to its close in 8,67,100 B.C. As per रामायण श्री राम ruled the country for 11,000 years. He was forty years old when he ascended the throne. वाल्मीकि began writing the रामायण after लवकुशस् were born. In the light of the above facts. certain scholars opine that the रामायण was written near about 878000 B.C. But, western critics and some eastern critics do not accept this view. Professor Jacobi holds the view that the original of महाभारत is anterior to रामायण . Most scholars do not agree with this view. A great majority of critics are of opinion that रामायण is anterior to महाभारत . They argue as follows:--

The traditional belief in India is that रामायण was written much earlier than महाभारत .

रामायण makes no reference to any of the characters of महाभारत .

The श्री राम story is referred to in many a जातक story of the Buddhists.

वाल्मीकि has made no mention about the city of पाटलीपुत्र established near about 380 B.C. It is an irrefutable fact that श्री राम had passed by the city.

During the reign of emperor अशोक the प्राकृत language was spoken in the areas where the incidents mentioned in रामायण took place. But, रामायण was written much anterior to the emergence of प्राकृत language.

According to Professor Keith रामायण was written in 300 B.C.

Different readings of रामायण

In various parts of India three original texts or readings are found of the original रामायण . In each of the three texts nearly (1/3) of the portions differ from one another. The Bombay text is popular in northern and southern India. The second is the Bengal text. The third, the Kashmir text, is popular in the north-western parts of India. The inference to be made from the existence of these three different texts is that the original epic was composed in a प्राकृत language, which was most popular at the time and that it was later translated into सन्स्क्रित् by different persons at different times. This theory will explain the existence of the different texts. For many years it continued to be handed down from mouth to month till it assumed written form in सन्स्क्रित् .

Other रामायण s

The रामायण story in other forms and garbs, is also prevalent in India. One of them is वासिष्ठरामायण or ज्ञानवासिष्ठ . The authorship of it also is ascribed to वाल्मीकि . Most of the रामायणस् like वासिष्ठोत्तररामायण , सीताविजय , अद्भुतरामायण , अद्भुतोत्तररामायण etc. found in different parts of India are believed to have been written by वाल्मीकि . अद्भुतरामायण is composd of twentyseven cantos. According to this रामायण , it was सीता , who killed रावण of ten heads. There is another रामायण in Sanskrit called अध्यात्म-रामायण . It is a poem separated from ब्रह्माण्डपुराण . It is written in the form of a conversation between उमा ( पार्वती ) and शिव . आनन्द-रामायण and मूल-रामायण extol the greatness of हनूमान् .