ABSTRACT
After considering the earliest textual evidence for Valmiki, I now turn to the legend that has grown up around him. Three key motifs become apparent in the Sanskrit material: the ascetic enclosed in a termite mound, the sinner who becomes a saint, and the idea that an evil or ignorant person is not worthy to recite the name of God. A fourth element, hinted at in the Sanskrit material but only made explicit in the vernacular texts, is the redefining of the sinner as an ‘untouchable’. This brings our study full circle.
