Valmiki Jayanti celebrates the birth anniversary of Valmiki, also known as Maharishi Valmiki, who is revered as Adi Kavi (first poet) in Sanskrit literature. His birth anniversary is celebrated on auspicious day of Sharad Purnima (full moon) of Hindu month of Ashvin which as per the Georgian calendar corresponds to the month of September or October. The Valmiki Jayanti is observed on October 5 in 2017. Maharishi Valmiki was a great sage and author of the first epic poem Ramayana. Ramayana consists of 24,000 shlokas (verses) and 7 kaṇḍas (cantos) including Uttara Kanda.