Birth of Vaalmeeki
It is an interesting story. There lived a Brahman couple in a forest. They had a beautiful son named Ratnaakar. Once the father and son went to collect flowers and Samidhaa etc things for Havan, that the son got separated from him. He searched for him a lot but he could not find him. Crying and thinking that some wild animal must have eaten by now, the father came back to his Aashram.

But luckily, a hunter of Bheel community was wandering around in the forest. He saw a boy alone crying, he brought him home and used to bring him up like his own child. Thus he grew up learning hunting. As he grew up, his hunter father had married him to a girl of his own community. They had several children. Now as his family grew, hunting was not enough to bring up his family, so he starting looting travelers going through the forest.

One day Naarad Jee was passing through that forest, that he caught Naarad Jee also and asked him to surrender everything to him. Naarad Jee said - "I am a devotee of Vishnu, I don't have anything except this Veenaa (an Indian string musical instrument). If you like my Veenaa, you can keep it." Ratnaakar said - "What I will do of this Veenaa, O fake Bhakt, give me the money you have. Where have you hidden it?" Naarad Jee said - "I am speaking the truth, I don't have anything else except this. But, by the way, why do you do this work?" "To feed my family, otherwise what for?" "Do you know that this is sin, why don't you do some other work?" "I know it, but what can I do? I don't know any other work."

Naarad Jee said - "For whoever you are doing this, go and ask them if they will share your sins also." Ratnaakar said - "Yes, They will share it with me, because I do all this for them only and they are my own people." Naarad Jee said - "How can you be so sure? First go and ask them and tell me whether they will share your sins or not. I am sure they will not. I am waiting for you to come back with the reply." "I know you people very well, as I will go away, you will run away from here, take out whatever you have." Naarad Jee said - "I will not run away, if you do not trust me, you may tie me with this tree till you come back." Ratnaakar agreed at this, he tied Naarad Jee with a tree and went to his family.

He asked his wife and children whether they would share his sins which he was committing only for them, by robbing travelers. Everybody replied - "We are not responsible for your sins, this is your responsibility to take care of us, it is your choice as how you do it. We can share your Punya, but not sins." Ratnaakar got very angry hearing this, he thought, "How ungrateful are my own people that they do not want to share my sins, they only want to enjoy my earnings and Punya. Fee on such people. That stranger was right. I was uselessly doing all this for them." and a kind of hatred for them arose in his heart, his eyes were opened.

When he came back where he tied Naarad Jee, Naarad Jee was still there tied with the same tree, except that he was sleeping. Ratnaakar was very impressed with the Rishi as he did not even try to run away in his absence. He woke him up, untied him and said - "I am sorry. You were right about my people, they do not want to share my sins. What should I do now? I have committed so many sins, how I will be free from them?" and saying thus he fell on his feet "Please tell me some way so that I can be free from these sins."

Naarad Jee said - "I give you a Mantra, you do Jaap of that Mantra, you will be all right. Recite "Raam, Raam"." Ratnaakar said - "I am such a great sinner that I can't pronounce this word, please tell me some other way." At this Naarad Jee thought for a moment and said - "OK, If you cannot pronounce Raam Raam, then pronounce "Maraa, Maraa"." Ratnaakar said - "Yes, This word is all right for me, I can do Jaap of this word." Naarad Jee said - "All right, You do the Jaap of this Mantra till I come back. Then I will see you." Ratnakar sat down to do the Jaap of "Maraa Maraa" and Naarad Jee went away his way.

Naarad Jee did not come to that side for long time, and Ratnaakar also did not get up from that place. He was so much lost in doing Jaap that he did not know where the time went. While he was doing Jaap, termites have made their house on his body. When Naarad Jee came, he did not find Ratnaakar anywhere, then he found a big termite house (Valmeeki), he recognized that he should be under this hill. So he broke that hill and he took out Ratnaakar from that hill. Ratnaakar's body was shining like gold by the effect of Tap. Naarad Jee gave him the name of Vaalmeeki, because he came out of Valmeeki, and then he became an Aadi Kavi (the earliest poet) and a great Rishi - Maharshi Vaalmeeki.

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