Meghnad Badh Kavya by Michael Madhusudan Dutt

Meghnad Badh Kavya is regarded as a central and finest work of Bengali literature, as well as one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem is based on the demise of Meghnad (a.k.a. Indrajit), son of Ravana, the king of Lanka, in the classic Sanskrit epic Ramayana. Michael Madhusudan Dutt was an ardent admirer of both European and Indian literature, and the epic owes much to Milton, Tasso, Homer, Virgil, Valmiki, Vyasa, and Kalidasa.

The poem is divided into nine cantos, each depicting different incidents. It begins with the death of Beerbahu, son of Ravana, and continues to the Sati-Daha — the ancient Indian custom of burning widows alive with their dead husband — of Prameela, Meghnad's beloved wife.