पृष्ठम्:श्रीमद्वाल्मीकिरामायणम्.pdf/२१

Manhood as enibodied in Sri Rama, Dasaratha's son; and the latter rose
to his full stature of Manhood and thus rose to the Brahmanhood of the
Veda; then, the ultra-human Veda to have its delightful fulfilment in the
essentially human Ramayana through the seer-poet Pracetasa.
Many modern sahrdaya, under the influence of certain obsessions
derived from an alien system of education, may be inclined to describe
Valmiki as the Homer of India. He must, however, remember, that
Plato refused to give an honoured place to Homer in the ideal scheme of
his republic, whereas, Valmiki has found, for more than two thousand
years, a permanent place of honour and love in the scheme of Indian
culture and life, ideal as well as actual. If the German poet Friedrich
Riickert finds in Valmiki "such fantastic grimaces, such formless
fermenting verbiage" as Homer has taught the heirs of Hellenic heritage
to despise, even this German poet finds in the Ramayana "such lofty
thoughts and such deep feeling as the Iliad does not show"; and perhaps,
the inadequate linguistic equipment of the German poet is responsible for
the beautiful poetic form of the language of the Ramayana appearing to
him as "formless fermenting verbiage." The Ramayana is one of the
grandest world-poems and Valmiki is one of the greatest world-poets.
It must be remembered that not only time, but space also is meant by the
great God of creation, when He pronounced the divine and prophetic
benediction on the first spantaneous emanation of true poetry from the
Rasa-filled heart of Vālmīki, in these terms-
यावत् स्यास्यन्ति गिरयः सस्तिव महीतखे ।
ताबद्रामायणकथा खोकेड प्रचरिष्यति ॥
Mylapore, Madras,`
4-8-1933.
1-2-36 (b) and 37 (a)
S. KUPPUSWAMI SASTRI,