Attributed to Valmiki
«Mother and motherland are greater than heaven (jananī janmabhūmiś ca svargād api garīyasī).»
Misattributed
Verdict
It is not in Valmiki's work
It is constantly quoted as a verse of Vālmīki's, spoken by Rāma before Laṅkā, but it does not appear in the Baroda critical edition; it circulates in some late versions and anthologies. It should be regarded as of doubtful attribution.
Source: Bhatt, G. H., y U. P. Shah (eds. gen.). The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition. 7 vols. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1960–1975.
What they did say
Verified words of Valmiki
«No fame be thine for endless time, / Because, base outcast, of thy crime, / Whose cruel hand was fain to slay / One of this gentle pair at play!»
Rāmāyaṇa, Bālakāṇḍa, canto II (1.2.14 de la edición crítica); trad. en verso de R. T. H. Griffith (1870, dominio público); versión española del investigador
«With equal lines of even feet, / With rhythm and time and tone complete, / The measured form of words I spoke / In shock of grief be termed a śloke.»
Rāmāyaṇa, Bālakāṇḍa, canto II; trad. de Griffith (1870)
«In all this world, I pray thee, who / Is virtuous, heroic, true? / Firm in his vows, of grateful mind, / To every creature good and kind?»
Rāmāyaṇa, Bālakāṇḍa, canto I, pregunta de Vālmīki a Nārada; trad. de Griffith (1870)