Maharishi Valmiki (, "vālmīki") (during Lord Rama's time) is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic "Ramayana", based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the "Adi Kavi," which means "First Poet," for he discovered the first "śloka" i.e. first "verse", which set the base and defined the form to Sanskrit poetry.