यावद्रामायणकथा त्वत्कृता प्रचरिष्यति । तावदूर्ध्वमधश्च त्वं मल्लोकेषु निवत्स्यसि ।।1.2.37।।
Meaning
"And as long as this Ramayana you compose endures, so long shall you dwell in the higher worlds, the lower worlds, and in my own abode."
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| yāvat | यावत् | as long as | Correlative conjunction |
| rāmāyaṇakathā | रामायणकथा | the story of the Ramayana | Subject — nominative singular |
| tvatkṛtā | त्वत्कृता | composed by you | Adjective qualifying kathā |
| pracariṣyati | प्रचरिष्यति | shall circulate | Future 3rd sg |
| tāvat | तावत् | just so long | Correlative adverb |
| ūrdhvam | ऊर्ध्वम् | in the worlds above | Adverb of place |
| adhaḥ ca | अधश्च | and in the worlds below | Adverb of place |
| tvam | त्वम् | you | Subject — nominative singular |
| mallokeṣu | मल्लोकेषु | in my own worlds | Locative plural |
| nivatsyasi | निवत्स्यसि | shall dwell | Future 2nd sg |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
Brahma's instruction to Valmiki is explicit that the poem's origin was not really Valmiki's own doing -- 'this speech arose in you at my own will' -- and his commission is total: narrate Rama's whole story as Narada told it, with the promise that not one word of it will prove false, and that the Ramayana will endure on earth for as long as mountains and rivers do, with Valmiki's own standing in the heavens tied to the poem's endurance.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.2.37 · Bāla Kāṇḍa