Valmiki (Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, Vālmīki, literally 'from an anthill') is a legendary poet and Hindu maharishi (sage) who is celebrated as the traditional author of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana, one of the two Itihasas of Hinduism. The attribution rests on references within the text itself. He is revered as Ādi Kavi (आदिकवि), meaning the first poet, and the Ramayana is regarded in tradition as the first epic poem (ādi kāvya).
The Ramayana ascribed to Valmiki consists of around 24,000 shlokas arranged in seven cantos (kaṇḍas) and roughly 480,002 words. By length, it is about a quarter of the Mahabharata and approximately four times the length of the Iliad. The narrative recounts the story of Rama, a prince of Ayodhya in the Kingdom of Kosala, whose wife Sita is abducted by Ravana, the Rakshasa king of Lanka.
Scholarly estimates place the earliest stage of the text between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE, with later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE. Like many traditional epics, the work has undergone successive interpolations and redactions, and a precise date of original composition cannot be established. Within the epic, Valmiki is also depicted as a contemporary of Rama, and the tradition holds that he composed the poem during Rama's own time.
Commentators have noted Valmiki's distinctive place in literary history. The British satirist Aubrey Menen described Valmiki as a recognised literary genius, characterising him as an "outlaw" on account of his "philosophic scepticism," which Menen situated within what he termed an "Indian Enlightenment" period. Menen further suggested that Valmiki was "the first author in all history to bring himself into his own composition," reflecting the poet's appearance as a character within the very narrative he authors.
Adapted from the English Wikipedia