VALMIKI

About:

• Valmiki, also known as Lal Beg or Bala Shah, is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature.
  
  
• The epic Ramayana, dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attribution in the text itself.
  
  
• He is revered as Ādi Kavi, the first poet, author of Ramayana, the first epic poem.
  
  
• The Balmiki sect of Hinduism reveres Valmiki as a patron saint, with a plethora of temples dedicated to him.