Which of the following statements about the Bengal literary epic, Meghnad Badh Kabya (1861 ) , is /are correct? 1. It was written by Michael Madhusudan Dutta 2. It draws upon existing Hindu and Jain traditions of Ramayana 3. It was translated into Assamese and Hindi Select the correct answer using the code given below:

The Bengal literary epic 'Meghnad Badh Kabya', published in 1861, was indeed written by Michael Madhusudan Dutta. As a pioneer of modern Bengali poetry, Dutta utilized a revisionist approach to the Ramayana, portraying the demon-prince Meghnad as a tragic hero and Ravana as a noble figure, while depicting Rama in a less favorable light. While the work draws heavily from Valmiki's Ramayana and Western influences like Milton's 'Paradise Lost', it does not specifically draw upon Jain traditions of the Ramayana (which typically emphasize non-violence and different character arcs). The epic gained immense popularity and was subsequently translated into several Indian languages, including Assamese and Hindi, to reach a wider audience during the Indian literary renaissance [1]. Therefore, statements 1 and 3 are correct, while statement 2 is inaccurate regarding the Jain influence.

Sources

1. [1] https://ia801501.us.archive.org/22/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.462744/2015.462744.Indian-Languages_text.pdf