"I am buoyant and expansive and uncontainable--but I always was so, only I never knew it!"
The Mahabharata- an epic tale that has been spoken about for generations. The story may be narrated by different individuals, but its format always remains the same. The Palace of Illusions is a book that gives a new perspective to the tale through the narrative of Draupadi- a woman often called ‘kritya’ for her wrath that set the fuels of war ablaze. A bold step taken by Author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions brings the reader a view of the Mahabharata through the lens of the woman that suffered the most during the tragic war.
The story follows the life of Draupadi, daughter of King Drupad, who clumsily sets foot in the real world from the yajna (fire sacrifice) while holding the hand of her brother, Drishtadyumna. She grew up confined within the walls of her father’s palace, amidst the presence of Krishna, her beloved friend and a divine entity from Dwarka, who stood by her side till the day she died. Draupadi aspired to be a strong, independent woman with morals of her own, which was quite unlikely for a woman of that era, but brave nonetheless. The story develops when she is married to Arjun, who wins her over in the Swayamvara, but is later told to marry his four brothers by her mother-in-law Kunti. Draupadi was a woman devoted to her husbands, even at the moment when she was stripped off of her dignity by Duryodhana because of her husband, Yudhishtira.
The author has had to face many controversial opinions by many readers of her book, which is expected, considering the risk that has been taken by retelling the epic that has been told by Vyasa. Despite not being true to the original tale and rearranging a few events, it is hard to not get immersed into Draupadi’s world, through the eyes and words of Divakaruni. The story also portrays the unrequited love of Draupadi for Karna, another angle that was not originally mentioned in Mahabharata, with raw emotion and grit. While Karna was seen as one of the villains in Mahabharata and in a way, Draupadi was deemed responsible for the tragedy, this love is sung-through flamboyance and betrayal. The book unfolds in the most enthralling ways, making it difficult to put down after one read. The title is derived from Draupadi's palace of dreams in Hastinapur, which seems to be the most valuable possession to her, further depicting her attachment and loss of an inanimate object with great emotion.
To conclude, a woman often portrayed as arrogant, dangerous, and filled with pride that she took to her grave by the world, due to her fury that gave rise to a war like no other, is given a voice through this book by the author. The Palace of Illusions narrates the sacrifices, love, and passion of perhaps, the most powerful woman in Mahabharta.
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