Synopsis On the banks of the river Tamasa stood the sage Valmiki. He was absorbed in the contemplation of the sense of peace pervading the place. All on a sudden, he heard the twang of a bowstring, the whirr of an arrow and the piteous cry of a Krauncha bird whose mate had just been killed by the arrow. Valmiki was overcome with pain and compassion and, when his eyes rested on the hunter who had parted the birds, his mind was full of anger and he spoke harshly to the Sinner. ‘O hunter, as you have killed the Krauncha bird which was lost in the ecstasy of love, you will not attain bliss for eternity.” The Oyster, they say, breeds the pearl in a moment of irritation. Even so, out of the heart of the poet, whose soul is drenched with pain is born a poem. Thus was born the Adi Kavya—THE RAMAYANA.