Meghnad Badh Kavya

Meghnad was a tragic hero in Ramayana. He is a shadow of Hector of Troy. He was slayed by Lakshmana brutally, while he was worshiping Shiva, known as Nikumvilla yagna, in the royal temple of Lanka, because of betrayal by Vibhishana, who is an uncle of Meghnad. Meghnad asked Lakshmana not to fight with an unarmed person, rebuking him as a coward; but Lakshmana did not hear him. This unfortunate hero twice endangered Rama as well as Lakshmana but could not survive himself in this unfair battle. This is the central theme of this epic. Meghnad was a patriot, a loving husband, a caring son and a friend to his countrymen.

Here are some comments of a few pioneers of Bengali literature:

1. "...to Homer and Milton, as well as to Valmiki, he is largely indebted, and his poem is on the whole the most valuable work in modern Bengali literature." -Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay[4]
2. "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[4]
3. "MeghnadBadh is a supreme poem." -Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar[4]

Dutta had mentioned this ballad many times in his letters, of which a few are listed:

1. "Perhaps the episode of Sita's abduction (Fourth Book) should not have been admitted since it is scarcely connected with the progress of the Fable. But would you willingly part with it? Many here look upon that Book as the best among the five ..." (1860)[3]
2. " ... I got a severe attack of fever and was laid up for six or seven days. It was a struggle whether Meghanad 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)[3]