‘The Palace of Illusions’ is a novel written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni which happens to be one of many from her describing a strong woman protagonist.
This is a book that describes the epic tale of Mahabharata from the perspective of Draupadi. It has been written in a biographical form and takes the readers to the time right from the birth of Draupadi to the War of Kurukshetra. The distinguishing factor between this book and the other translations of the Mahabharata is the portrayal of Draupadi as a strong and fierce woman.
The novel opens up with Draupadi narrating the story of the ethereal birth of her and her brother Dhrishtadyumna. They emerged from the fire holding each other’s hands after their father, Drupad (King of Panchaal), performed the Mahayagya in the presence of sages Yaja and Upyaja to avenge Dronacharya. Unaware of what lies ahead of her, Draupadi leads a life of a Princess and tries to solve the puzzles that are put forward by her friend and confidante, Krishna.
As the story unfolds, Draupadi is told by Maharishi Vyasa about the events that await her in the future and how she would become a very strong force behind the destruction of Bharat (post which the Kalyug began). Further many unfortunate events take place in the life of Draupadi which eventually lead to the destruction of the lineage of the Kauravas.
Banerjee describes the many sides of Draupadi in her own beautiful way, be it the way she dealt with her unusual marriage with the Pandavas, her affection towards Karna, the stressed relationship between her and her mother-in-law Kunti or the beautiful friendship she shares with Krishna.
Readers, especially women, would surely relate to the character of Draupadi who was ahead of her time i.e. strong, resilient, opinionated and brave. Unlike her contemporaries, Draupadi turned out to be fierce and stood against the injustice she had to bear with, which later came to be known as the “Cheer- Haran.”
So, if you are a person who is intrigued by mythology or want to delve deeper into Mahabharata through the eyes of the female protagonist herself then this is the book for you.
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