Valmiki’s Ramayana is known as Adi kavya, because it was the first kavya to be written. Although many other Ramayanas came to be written later on, Valmiki Ramayana is special, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan, in a discourse. Sage Narada visits Valmiki, and Valmiki then puts a question to him. He lists sixteen good qualities, and asks if anyone alive at that time has all these qualities. Narada says that Rama has all these qualities. Brahma then enables Valmiki to see all the events of the Rama avatara — past, present and future. Because of Brahma’s boon, Valmiki is witness to everything that takes place during the Rama avatara. His kavya, therefore, is an eyewitness account of what happened. It is nothing but the truth, with no additions or deletions.
The Vedas are to be understood with the help of Itihasas and Puranas, and Itihasas are more important than the Puranas. However, some events described briefly in the Ramayana are elaborately described in some Puranas, and so, at such times, Vaishnava Acharyas have used the descriptions given in the Puranas. For example, Paadma Purana gives the Kakasura episode in more detail than one finds in Valmiki’s Ramayana, and Acharyas have quoted from the Paadma Purana. The Ashtakshara mantra, dhvaya mantra and charama sloka are significant for Sri Vaishnavas. And the Ramayana shows us the importance of dhvaya mantra, for it shows the inseparability of the Lord and His Consort. The Ramayana makes us realise that we have to approach the Lord, only with the blessings of His Consort. The kavya shows us both the end to be attained and the means to attain it. The end is to serve Him in Sri Vaikunta. The way to achieve this is through surrender to Him. The concept of total surrender lies at the heart of the Ramayana.
