The great Indian epic, Ramayana, may have never been authored but for one man’s rage at the thoughtless action of a hunter.
The poet Valmiki, who composed Ramayana entirely in verse, was wandering through the forest, when he saw a pair of cranes frolicking about. He stopped to admire how affectionate they were to each other. All of a sudden, a hunter’s arrow shattered this perfect moment. The male crane dropped dead and the female bird crooned in agony at the loss of her partner. Valmiki, enraged by the hunter’s thoughtless action, uttered a curse in perfect verse. In that moment, he discovered the poet within him.
Anger and frustration often grip us and distort our judgement. Yet, there is beauty within those feelings – beauty that we could express through our creative work.
Read Valmiki’s poem in its original Sanskrit here.
