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A retelling of the Mahabharat from a woman’s point of view. This is a very interesting take on an otherwise traditional story, because although there are women in the Mahabharat/Ramayana, their role is secondary, and mostly as honor/child bearers. There are some women who do get their way, but they are generally “evil”, for example Kaikeyi in the Ramayana. There literally are no strong women, who wield any influence, or can even do as they think. There is Kunti in the Mahabharat, who bears children as an unmarried virgin, but, yeah, what a mistake, she has to give them up, and can never acknowledge Karna as her own. You hear of educated women in traditional texts, but for all their education, very few do little more than birth sons. So among a pantheon of men, hearing what a woman thinks (and speaks) is refreshing to read. I am not a big fan of Divakaruni’s, but did immensely enjoy this book. She fleshes out Draupadi’s character quite nicely, right from her birth from fire, until the Great War, where she is blessed with the “sight”. And told from Draupadi’s point of view, there are subtle nuances to the story which would never get told otherwise. Yes, it is true that Divakaruni embellishes certain aspects of the story, such as Draupadi’s views on men having more than one wife, or even her feelings with regards to Karuna, but that “embellishment” to me, just made it more interesting.

2022-10-21 05:35