''Meghnad Badh Kavya'' ( bn, মেঘনাদবধ কাব্য; English: The Slaying of Meghnada) is a Bengali epic poem by

Michael Madhusudan Dutta Michael Madhusudan Dutt ((Bengali: মাইকেল মধুসূদন দত্ত); (25 January 1824 – 29 June 1873) was a Bengali poet and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of Bengali literature. Early life Dutt ...

. Regarded as a central work in

Bengali literature Bengali literature ( bn, বাংলা সাহিত্য, Bangla Sahityô) denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle- Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time ...

and Dutta's greatest literary work as well as the finest epic in Bengali literature and also as one of the greatest works of world literature. ''Meghnad Badh Kavya'' is based on the demise of

Meghnad Meghanada (), also referred to by his epithet Indrajita , according to Hindu texts, was the crown prince of Lanka, who conquered Indraloka (Heaven). He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors in Hindu texts. He is a major character mention ...

(a.k.a. Indrajit), son of

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He a ...

, the king of

Lanka Lanka (, ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary asura king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known ...

in the classic Sanskrit epic ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

''. The poem is divided into 9 cantos.Read the whole ballad in Bangla
/ref> Each part exhibits different incidents. Starting from the death of Beerbahu, son of Ravana, it is continued till the sati-daha (the ancient

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n custom of burning the widows alive with the dead husband) of

Prameela Prameela (T. A. Prameela) is a veteran Indian actress in South Indian films. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1970s and 1980s in Malayalam and Tamil films also acted in few Kannada and Telugu films as well. She was noted for her glamo ...

, Meghnad's beloved wife. The poem starts with the lines:

Critical review

or ''Indrajit'' was the son of

, who used Brahmastra to kill 670 Million

Vanara In Hindu, Vanara ( sa, वानर, , forest-dwellers) are either monkeys, apes, or a race of forest-dwelling people. In the epic the ''Ramayana'', the Vanaras help Rama defeat Ravana. They are generally depicted as humanoid apes, or human-l ...

s in ''

''. He was slayed by

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...

, while he was worshiping Goddess Nikumvilā, in the royal temple of

, because of betrayal by

Vibhishana Vibhishana () is the younger brother of Ravana, the King of Lanka, in the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. Though a rakshasa himself, Vibhishana turned his back on Ravana, and defected to Rama's side, owing to his dharma. After Rama defeated Ra ...

, who was an uncle of Meghnad. Meghnad asked Lakshmana not to fight with an unarmed person, rebuking him as a coward; but

did not oblige. This is the central theme of this epic. Here are some comments of a few pioneers of

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

literature: #"...to

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

and

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

, as well as to

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the wikt:harbinger, harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on ...

, he is largely indebted, and his poem is on the whole the most valuable work in modern Bengali literature." -

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (also Chattopadhayay) CIE (26 or 27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was an Indian novelist, poet, Essayist and journalist.Staff writer"Bankim Chandra: The First Prominent Bengali Novelist" ''The Daily Star'', 30 June 2011 ...

Read more about the poet
#"The Epic Meghnad-Badh is really a rare treasure in Bengali literature. Through his writings, the richness of Bengali literature has been proclaimed to the wide world." -

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

#"MeghnadBadh is a supreme poem." -

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE ( bn, ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর; 26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay, was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century. ...

Quotations from the poet

Dutta Dutta, also spelled Dutt or Datta, is a Hindu family name found primarily among Bengali Kayasthas,Assamese Kayasthas and also among Suvarna Baniks, Gandhabaniks in India. The name is also found among certain North Indian Brahmin communities g ...

had mentioned this

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

many times in his letters, of which a few are listed: #"Perhaps the episode of

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

's abduction (Fourth Book) should not have been admitted since it is scarcely connected with the progress of the

Fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular mo ...

. But would you willingly part with it? Many here look upon that Book as the best among the five ..." (1860) #" ... I got a severe attack of fever and was laid up for six or seven days. It was a struggle whether

Meghanad Meghanada (), also referred to by his epithet Indrajita , according to Hindu texts, was the crown prince of Lanka, who conquered Swarga, Indraloka (Heaven). He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors in Hindu texts. He is a major character ...

will finish me or I finish him. Thank Heaven. I have triumphed. He is dead, that is to say, I have finished the VI Books in about 750 lines. It cost me many a tear to kill him." (1860)

References

{{Reflist Bengali-language literature Bengali poetry