His poetry is compared to a cuckoo bird sounding sweet. His poetry is also compared to a lion’s roar. They are contradictory qualities. It’s not easy to have two contradicting qualities in the same ka:vya, poetic scripture. He is the great sage Valmiki, the composer of SriRamayana, utthama ka:vya, the best form of poetic scripture.

What makes him comparable to these?

SriRamayana is the history, of an unparalleled divine couple, delivered in a sweet, simple and beautiful poetry giving a wonderful experience to those who read / hear / watch it. Thus, he is compared to a cuckoo bird.

The same poetry also gives away invaluable secrets of life and single solution to the cause of all problems. These hidden inner truths are like the roars of a lion which drive away many of the ‘animals’ hidden in the ‘forest’ of our body.

An example…

When Rama suggested Sitha to stay at Ayodhya instead of joining him for the exlie, she says to Rama…
agrathasthe: gamishya:mi
mrudhnanthi kusakantakaha
I will walk in-front of you and clear out all the thorns on the way…

Did Mother Sitha walk infront of Rama clearing the path?

It is said that mother Sitha is very tender. How can she walk in-front of Rama in the forest clearing the path of any thorns? Yet, Rama accepted that. Did she lead the path? Yes and No!

No, because Sitha did not walk infront of Rama while they were going through the forests. In fact, Sage Valmiki describes in Aranya Kanda the order in which the three of them walked through the paths of the forests.

agrathaha prayayo: ra:ma
sitha: madhye: sumadhyama:
prushthasthu dhanushpa:nihi
lakshamaha anujaga:ma ha!
Rama was leading the walk, Sitha was walking behind Rama with Lakshmana walking behind her…

Yes, because it was Sitha who stepped into Lanka before Rama. She walked ahead of him in stepping into Lanka. She caused all the demons to come face-to-face with Rama. If Rama had gone to forests alone, He would have spent time in the rushi asramams in the forests and would have come back to Ayodhya. It was because of Sitha that one demon after another, one group of demons after another got exposed and faced the punishment for their wrong-doings. This is how she cleared the path of the ‘thorns’ making the environment suitable to punish the wrong-doers…. The purpose of Rama avatar was to fulfil the request of devathas to free the world from Ravana’s atrocities.

Kusa kantaka:ha, ku = earth; sa = joy; kantaka:ha = thorns; She took the first step to keeping the life on earth free from demons and paved path for fulfilling the purpose of Rama avatar.

How do I understand the rest of the scripture in this way?

It is out of a guru’s krupa, grace that one can understand the roars of sage Valmiki. Chathumukha Bramha gave great boons to sage Valmiki to shower us all with the story of mother Sitha exactly as it happened…

hasitham bha:shitham cha e:va
gadhyaryath cha che:shtitham
You will know when and why someone smiled, talked, walked, or did anything to exact detail…

Thus, we pray to sage Valmiki for blessing us all with the greatest of the eternal knowledge in the most pleasant way as…

ku:jantham ra:ma ra:me:thi madhuram madhura:ksharam
a:ruhya kavitha:sa:kha:m vande: va:lmi:ki ko:kilam
Va:lmike:rmuni na:rasinhasya kavitha: vanacha:rinaha
Srunvan ra:makatha:na:dam ko:na ya:thi para:m gathim
Yah piban sathatham ra:ma charitha:mrutha sa:garam
Athrupthastham munim vande: pra:che:thasam akalmasham

– From the discourse of HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji
– Maha Santhi Sundaram, Divya Saketham, JIVA

Listen to the Key Essentials of SriRamayana in the words of HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji here:

Learn about the divine initiative, Maha Santhi Sundaram and Participate in it