A Tribute to the Glory of Valmiki Jayanti-Puri

Jaswant Singh Puri/ October 7,2025

Valmiki Jayanti is a day steeped in reverence, poetry and strong power of redemption. It falls on the seventh October this year. This sacred day falls on the full moon day (Purnima) of the Ashwin month, which is a soulful tribute to the Adi Kavi, the First Poet. Legend tells us that before Valmiki became the sage, he was known as Ratnakara, who wandered the forests as a highwayman, a predator of travellers. But through the guidance of sage Narada, Ratnakar’s avarice and violence chiseled into a total transformation, and became a living testament for spiritual metamorphosis. Valmiki Jayanti thus reveals that the path of righteous devotion is open to all who earnestly seek it.

It is said that when Valmiki saw a hunter killing a bird, his grief poured out in a metrical verse – the very first ‘Shloka’ in Sanskrit literature. The Shloka reads as:

“Ma Nishada Pratistham Twamagamat Sasvatih Smah,

Yat Krauncamithunadekam Avadhih Kamamohitam”

This divinely inspired verse traversed the path to compose The Ramayana afterwards, which is a saga born from compassion. ‘The Ramayana’ consists of 24,000 verses, which speak the timeless chronicle of Lord Rama and his consort Sita where Valmiki paints the vibrant panorama of human experience ‘The Ramayana’ is really lyrical in the hurried pace of life.

It is inspiring to mention that Alka Puri, M.A. Hindi, B.Ed. mother of the author was a voracious reader of ‘The Ramayana’ and could easily recite the verses with love and devotion. It is also pleasing to note that Dr. Ajit Singh Puri, a noted physician visited Tamil Nadu (then Madras) during the tenure of Ujjal Singh as Governor in 1970s who made his stay there very pleasant. He helped Dr. Puri to visit Rameshwaram and other religious places related to Bhagwan Ram.

It is also pleasing to observe that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 126th address of ‘Man Ki Bat’ laid emphasis on Maharishi Valmiki and focused on Mata Shabari and Nishadraj and urged people to pay their respects at the Valmiki and Nishadraj temples along with Ram Lalla in Ayodhaya. Idols of Nishadraj and Maharishi Valmiki have been erected in the Saptamandap of the Ram Janambhoomi Complex.

It will promote cultural as well as religious tourism. To promote tourism ‘Sri Ramayan Yatra’: IRCTC Deluxe AC Tourist train will cover all places linked to Lord Ram. So in celebrating Valmiki, we celebrate the evergreen power of the human soul to rise, to sing, and to sanctify existence.