Background
Source: Wikipedia
Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, romanized: Vālmīki, lit. 'from an anthill', [ʋɑːlmiːki]) was a legendary poet and Hindu maharishi (sage) who is celebrated as the traditional author of the smriti epic Ramayana, one of Hinduism's two Itihasas, based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as Ādi Kavi (Sanskrit: आदिकवि), the first poet, author of Ramayana, the first epic poem. The Ramayana, originally written by Valmiki, consists of 24,000 shlokas and seven cantos (kaṇḍas).
