Whose Valmiki?

Abstract

The roots of sacred spiritual knowledge of Indian traditions lead one back to the Vedas, Puranas, Shrutis, Ramayana, Mahabharata and other mythical works that were transmitted orally by the Aryan scholars. Such scholars invented countless stories related to the birth, caste and death of a classical character but such narratives are challenged by modern scholars when examined from comparative methods, logical reasoning, rational angle and scientific perspective. One of such stories is the birth and caste of Valmiki, the creator of Ramayana. As per Puranas and Shrutis, Valmiki was a Brahmin but Sikh and Oriental scholars oppose the view by declaring him a Dalit who later became the guru of sweepers. The question of Valmiki’s caste evolved into one of the most fiercely disputed subjects in the twentieth century, and the controversy at the turn of the new century led to numerous lawsuits, court cases and litigations. Having orientation towards the controversy, this article aims to solve the puzzle by scrutinizing the aforementioned texts and scholars’ views from four different languages: Sanskrit, Hindi, Punjabi and English. The hypothesis will decode the enigma of Valmiki Jayanti and different propagandas related to the caste of poet Valmiki and Valmiki, the community. The conclusion will emphasize the difference between written texts and myths of the Indian knowledge system.