Bishad Shindhu is a poetic novel about the history of Muhammad's grandson Hasan, especially Husayn's assassination, and the war for the position of Khalifa of Muslims. It was written by Mir Mosarraf Hussain, one of the first modern Bengali Muslim writers. Bishad Shindhu was written over the period of 1885-1891. It is one of the best known works of Bengali literature. However, it is not considered an authentic source for the history of Karbala, the location of Husayn's war front, or the place of his death. Bishad Shindhu is written in an epic style. It contains much poetic language, and many dramatic scenes. At the time of its composition, there were few published novels in the Bengali language, and Mosharraf Hussain was part of a community of writers working to pioneer a new tradition of novels in Bengali. The novel was written in Shadhubhasha, a Sanskritised form of Bengali.