His birth name was Ratnakara. Ram Varma The enduring story of Prince Ram of Ayodhya, who is regarded and worshipped as God in India, was said to have been originally composed by sage Valmiki in Sanskrit. Arguments over whether Valmiki was a Brahmin or a Shudra can go on and on. It happened, however, that a certain Brahman’s son died in a premature To answer the question, you can't punish someone for a crime he or she did not commit! Worse still, is the proliferation of so-called “rationalists” and “secularists”, who seem to think themselves sufficiently qualified on the subject to pass opinions on Lord Rama. Watch video - Brahmins in India have become a minority Valmiki Early Life: Valmiki life history is very peculiar, we can see him as a robber in his early days and as a Sage in later years. Yes, besides Uttar Kanda sargas 73-76 of Valmiki Ramayana, Puranas also mention this incident of Killing of a shudra ascetic called Shambuka by Shree Rama. Valmiki was supposedly a contemporary of Ram in pre-historic times. Then Narad came and explained to Ram that the death was owing to the illegitimate ascetism of the Shudra. For instance in Padma Purana- Shristi Kanda- Section 1 - Chapter 35 - The Killing of Sudra Ascetic we find mention of this story. It shows what family you were born Valmiki Ramayana, Bal kand, sarga 3, verse 38. This chapter examines interest from south India in an episode originating in the Uttarakanda attributed to Valmiki's Rāmāyana. It is the lowest rank of the four varnas. Maharishi Valmiki was born in a shudra family. Uttara Kanda, the 7th part of Ramayana is generally attributed to Maharshi Valmiki. Valmiki was born a Shudra and Krishna Dwaipayana (also known as Ved Vyas) was born to a fisherwoman. (583-84) The Ramayana of Valmiki trans. He was doing Tapas or penance. The word Shudra appears only once in the Rig veda but is found in other Hindu texts such as the Manusmriti, Arthashastra and Dharmashastras. Annotation by: Pritchett Rama kills the Shudra for doing the pious activity of tapasya (penance) and Vedic chanting.” “There is no such incident in Ram’s history depicted in Valmiki’s Ramayan. If Valmiki was hell-bent on bringing in all sorts of animals (Jatayun was a condor) why couldn't he conjure up characters that were lions, elephants, panthers and tigers -- India had plenty of them. [3][4][5] Populated regions include the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, as well as Uttar Pradesh in India, among other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as southern India. Without a word Ram unsheathed his sword and cut off his head. Shambuka was a Shudra. Brahma dev in Valmiki Ramayana, Baala Kaanda, Sarga 1, Shloka 35 The popular text Ramcharitmanas , penned by Goswami Tulsidas in Varanasi & Chitrakoot, was written in apprx 15th century AD in Awadhi, which was already a dialect of Hindi diluted by Islamic rulers. Though Shudra means an uneducated person, a Shudra can also become a teacher for specific knowledge that he has. Valmiki … When Sri Rama asked him "who are you? Before discussing that, hypothetically, let’s take the story for the face value. He was the son of Sumali and born in a shudra family. 7.Lakshmana used to get very angry quickly. Click here to start a new topic. The incident is known as the murder of Sambuka, the Shudra. Sri Rama is God and so should be impartial to all people. Lord Rama is probably The Valmiki Ramayana unequivocally establishes that Sri Rama is the Supreme Brahman, Lord Vishnu, and no mere human. If some people want to engage in this controversy, let them also begin a campaign for the “purification Chuhra, also known as Bhanghi and Balmiki,[1][2] is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan. An episode in the ‘Valmiki Ramayan’ says a Brahmin put the blame for the death of his young son on Lord Ram. Valmiki never wrote this. For one who had abandoned his dear wife, for the sake of his country, the killing of a shudra who … For example, Valmiki is referred to in the Taittiriya Brahmana (dated to 4600 BCE) and therefore Ramayana must have been written before the Taittiriya Brahmana was composed. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. The saint killed in the forest by using Sabdha Bhedi arrow by Dasaratha was the son of Vaisya father (saint) and a Shudra mother . Please sign and date your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~). 2/168. The ascetic replied that he was a shudra, called Shambuka who was practising penance. ", he was honest and spoke the truth that he was a Shudra. His birth name was Ratnakara. Valmiki Ramayan It has become the norm for every Tom, Dick and Harry to quote from the Ramayana as though they are authorities on the subject to malign Hindus. Even if one were to assume that he was a Shudra by birth and reformed through Narada’s intervention, the … Valmiki never mentioned this. Am sharing the answer which I have given to another very similar question (and misconception) about Lord Rama. Follow the clues The wonderful thing about the Ramayana is that when Valmiki wrote the epic, he made it … While describing what all subjects are mentioned in Ramayana, it says: We got the Seer Shambook executed by Ram, calling him a shudra. (source: Caste and Bhagawad Gita - By Ambassador O P Gupta ). [duplicate] Some people are saying by birth he was a Shudra, but others say he was a Brahmin by birth - which one is correct? A twice-born man who, not having studied the Vedas , applies himself to other (and worldly study), soon falls, even while living, to the condition of a Shudra; and so do his descendants (after him). Maharshi Valmiki, the author of the great Indian epic Ramayana, was a Hindu sage who lived around the beginning of the first millennium B.C.He is referred to as the ‘adikavi’, the original creator of the Hindu ‘sloka’ – a verse form in which most of the great epics such as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, and other works are composed. Do any authentic scriptures other than Valmiki Ramayan talk about Shambuka's story (from Uttara Kanda)? Valmiki Ramayana: 1.1.98-100) Thus, Vedas, Ramayana and Gita confer authority on sudras to possess and read these. Was Valmiki a Shudra by birth? 6. The answer is simple my dear friend, Brahmin isn't the one who belittles a person but rather who appreciates the good and bad in every person belonging … But even if Valmiki were a low-caste person, it is not relevant to the message of the Ramayana. VALMIKI Valmiki was the son of Sumali. Valmiki appears in their songs as a person who was involved in the events of Sita’s and Rama’s lives and who composed an account of those events—but not necessarily the correct account. Shudra or Shoodra is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order in India. However, if it is seen, Maharishi Valmiki has nothing to do with the present Balmiki community because he was neither a Shudra nor an Untouchable. Among the actions for which Rāma has been most frequently criticized in south India, the story of the beheading of Sambuka, a low-caste ascetic, by Rāma stands out. Like most of the participants in the tradition, these women believe the Ramayana to be fact and not fiction, and its many different versions are precisely in keeping with this belief. He lived in an ashram on River Sarayu’s bank, some distance away to the east of Ayodhya. They are unlikely to reach a logical conclusion. Put new text under old text. For example, For example, 2.238: One should acquire knowledge even from a person born in a low family otherwise. Published by Gita press. How he became Valmiki One day Narada Muni … But he who does not worship in morning, nor in the evening, is like a Shudra and he shall be excluded, just like a Shudra, from all the duties and rights of an Arya (one of noble qualities). 8.Some of the answers of Sita were very curt. Satyakam Jabali, believed to have composed the … Bala Kanda of original ramayana describes Valmiki composing twenty four thousand verses and taught them to Lava and Kusha, the sons of Rama and Seetha. This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Shudra article. It is said by Valmiki that in Rama’s reign there were no premature deaths in his kingdom. Ramayana was originally composed as itihaasa in 6 kanda (parts). He was a … Published by Gita press. By thy grace, this Shudra will not be able to attain heaven!'" 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