Poetry
বৃত্রসংহার
Not translated into English
Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay · 1875
Synopsis
Taking up an ancient tale carried in the Mahabharata, the epic recounts the gods' war against the demon Vritra, who holds them in check. Indra, their king, learns that no ordinary weapon will defeat him, and that he needs a weapon forged from the bones of a sage: the ascetic Dadhichi agrees to give his life so that it can be made. In two books, the poet turns this struggle into one of right against unjust power.
Context
The poem appeared in two volumes, in 1875 and in 1877, in the line of the Bengali epic inaugurated by Michael Madhusudan Dutt, whose influence the author underwent. It draws its subject from the Mahabharata and has the reader see in it the triumph of justice over the unjust regime of its time. It enjoyed great popularity; in the same year as its first volume appeared another patriotic epic, that of Nabinchandra Sen on the battle of Plassey.
Who it is for
An epic in verse, demanding to read. It helps to know the myth of Indra and Vritra. No French translation.
Prizes and reception
Regarded by Banglapedia as its author's masterpiece; in its day it was very popular.
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