Mangala sloka for Rama - The HinduPublished - November 03, 2026 04:50 am ISTWhen Valmiki saw a hunter kill one of a pair of krauncha birds, he cursed the hunter through a sloka. But the sloka can also be interpreted differently, in a positive sense, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse. Valmiki’s sloka begins with the word manishadah. If you split this as ma and nishada, then it is Valmiki addressing the hunter (nishada). Valmiki curses the hunter, “Oh hunter! You killed one of two birds which were making love (kaamamohitam). Because of that, you will never have any peace.” But if the word manishadah is not split, then it means the One who is never separated from ma, that is Mahalakshmi. So, this can be taken as a reference to Rama Himself.While the words shasvathi samah pratistham tvam agamah have a negative meaning when we take them as referring to the hunter, they also can mean ‘May you live long.’ Kaamamohitam can be seen as a reference to Ravana, who was caught in kama (lust) for Sita. So, the entire sloka can be seen as a mangala sloka for Rama, the One who is never separated from Sita and the One who killed the lustful asura. While Valmiki’s intention was to curse the hunter, it so happened that he presented the Ramayana story in a nutshell through that sloka. There are certain rules to be followed while writing a kavya. A mahakavya must have thousands of verses, and Valmiki’s Ramayana has 24,000 verses. Although many versions of the Ramayana came up later, Valmiki’s is the authentic account, because he was witness to everything that happened in Rama’s life, thanks to the divine vision which Brahma gave him. When Lord Narayana decided to take the Rama avatara, Veda Purusha decided to take an avatara as Valmiki Ramayana. So, the Ramayana is the embodiment of Vedic tenets. It has many tattvas which need deep study and analysis.Published - November 03, 2026 04:50 am ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }