Ramayana begins not with grandeur or celebration, but with a moment of unbearable grief, injustice, and a curse born of compassion. In the stillness of a forest, the sage Valmiki witnessed a heart-wrenching sight: a pair of krauñcha birds, mated for life, were torn apart when the male was killed by a hunter’s arrow. The female bird’s cries pierced the sage’s heart, and from this pain was born the first shloka in Sanskrit literature:

“Maa nishaada pratiṣṭhāṃ tvam-agamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ
yat krauñca-mithunād ekam avadhīḥ kāma-mohitam.”

“Oh hunter! Driven by lust, you killed one of a loving pair, you shall never gain peace or honour for all eternity.”

This was not just a condemnation; it was a deep cry from the heart — a response to life torn apart. The spontaneous outpouring of sorrow carried the weight of justice. It gave birth to Dharma in poetry.

Fast forward to 2025, in the forested region of Kashmir — history seemed to repeat itself. A newlywed bride, on her honeymoon and walking hand-in-hand with her husband just moments before, was now kneeling beside his lifeless body. He had been shot at point-blank range in a brutal terrorist attack. Unarmed and unsuspecting, the young man fell to a bullet fired by a modern-day nishad — an Islamist terrorist who had struck without warning or mercy.

Her hair parting bright with sindoor, and her hands, adorned with red bangles, trembled as she sat in shock. In that moment, she became the living echo of the kraunchī bird — grieving her mate, lost to sudden violence. Once again, love was shattered by cruelty, and a moment of joy turned to dust.

But just as Valmiki’s sorrow birthed the Ramayana, this grief too gave rise to a response — not in verse, but in action. Operation Sindoor!

Operation Sindoor launched by India, was a swift and decisive answer to the cruelty that had been unleashed by Pakistan. It was more than a military strike — it was a message. Like Valmiki’s words, it said to the perpetrators: You who wiped off the sindoor of the Kraunchi, shall not find peace, nor honour. Not now, not ever.