Draupadi’s Quest for Identity and Selfhood in Divakaruni’s “The Palace of Illusions”

Abstract

Our ancient text plays an important role in creating a conservative image of women, which is one of the main reasons why women have been deprived of their rights from the beginning, as these ancient texts still impact our society in different ways. Writers have constantly questioned this conservative image created by these ancient texts. Rewriting and rephrasing of Ramayana and Mahabharata is the most common practice performed by many authors. These epics are transcended from one generation to the next in various forms and genres. These epics are presented in our society in various genres such as poems, folk tales, paintings, novels, and television series. Every time a writer reviews these epics, it gives a new dimension to make them relevant to contemporary times. This paper attempts to explore Draupadi’s feminist journey by examining her attempts to establish her identity as woman.