पश्यन्ति paśyantī

World's First Poem As Mahārishi Vālmiki and his shishya Rishi Bhāradwāja approached the edge of  the Tamasā River, He was attracted by an area that was beautiful and mud-free clear water. Taking his kalasha and valkala vastra (bark garments) from his shishya, Valmiki enters the beautiful water of the Tamasā River. As he was entering the waters admiring the beauty and sounds of the birds, he sees two beautiful krauncha birds lost in union (kāmamohitam). At that moment, as though to destroy the serenity of the scene, a nishāda (hunter) shoots an arrow and kills the male bird to the lament of its partner. Looking at the lamenting kraunchi, Maharishi Valmiki says something to the nishāda,  This utterance of sorrow (śoka) that spontaneously fell into metrical form became the first śloka (verse) of Sanskrit poetry: मा निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमः शाश्वतीः समाः | यत् क्रौञ्चमिथुनादेकमवधीः काममोहितम् || १-२-१५ mā niṣāda pratiṣṭhāṁ tvamagamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ | yat krauñca-mithunād...