Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 3: Vālmīki Composes the Rāmāyaṇa
Text 1.3.1
श्रुत्वा वस्तु समग्रं तद्धर्मात्मा धर्मसंहितम्।
व्यक्तमन्वेषते भूयो यद्वृत्तं तस्य धीमतः॥
śrutvā vastu samagraṁ tad dharmātmā dharma-saṁhitam
vyaktam anveṣate bhūyo yad vṛttaṁ tasya dhīmataḥ
śrutvā = having heard; vastu = essence of Rāmayaṇa; samagram = entire; tat = the; dharma-ātmā = Vālmīki, whose very nature adhered to dharma; dharma-saṁhitam = imbued with Vedic dharma; vyaktam anveṣate bhūyaḥ = sought out the details; yat vṛttam = of events that had transpired; tasya = Lord Rāma; dhīmataḥ = the intelligent.
Having heard the entire essence of Rāmāyaṇa imbued with Vedic dharma, Vālmīki, whose very nature adhered to dharma, sought out the details of events that had transpired to the intelligent Lord Rāma.
In the previous chapter, the sage mainly pointed out the extraordinary characteristics of the author as being supremely trustworthy. He did this to point out that the sacred work Rāmāyaṇa is to be greatly honored. Now, for the same purpose, he points out the extraordinary nature of the mode of composition of this work.
Sage Vālmīki’s very nature adhered to dharma. How he sought out those details is brought out here.