A Book About Values ​​That are Always Relevant

We all know about Mahabharata, the consequences the wrongdoers pay when they tried to harm the dignity of a woman which led to the Kurukshetra War that continued for 18 days. This book was Mahabharata from the same woman’s perspective, the woman who was called Drapaudi, which I cheered for. In this grand epic for me, she was a mysterious character. It starts with her birth from the fire, which led to her also being known as ‘Yagyasaini’, who has prophecies around her that she will be responsible for the biggest change in the course of history.

While getting used to the world, she was shown to be an average woman who did not show a keen interest in traditional arts that used to be a necessity for women to know during that period. Instead, she always felt herself getting deviated toward political sciences, with her only true companion, her beloved brother Drishtyadumna, which was then unheard of.

She got married to five princes, the Pandava brothers in a rather strange arrangement by Rishi Vyas which shows the obsession with virginity goes a lot back than what we think.

Despite having five husbands, she did not have any freedom in this polygamous marriage, passing around from brother to brother every year. Even though she married the five Pandava brothers, she was still called ‘Pativrata’. It is this aspect that made Mahabharata stand out as an Indian Epic.

It is rightly said in the book that your childhood hunger never leaves you, and neither Drapaudi nor her five husbands are spared this notion.

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They were shown to be constantly fighting for the kingdom they were born to rule and undergoing any hardships during this journey to take was rightfully theirs.

Throughout the epic, she was mostly portrayed as a victim of her fate, her husband’s decisions, and whatnot. But in this story, she was anything but! She is shown as a fiercely independent, rebellious persona, who questioned everything around her and wanted to take her destiny into her own hands.

Something that also stood out was how Chitra Divakaruni’s retelling made no efforts to portray Drapaudi as a ‘perfect woman, but just a human. She had her flaws, her insecurities about her looks, and whatnot. She felt anger, hatred, and jealousy toward those surrounding her. Yet through all these flaws, she realized her mistakes, was aware of the wrongness of her desires, knew the consequences of her actions, and took the responsibility for those. All this for me made her the ‘perfect protagonist.’

It was very refreshing to learn about this saga through Draupadi’s gendered lens. The author did a wonderful job sticking to the epic yet giving a little twist on Draupadi’s feelings which was the only liberty she took while writing this story. The author’s narration provided different insights into the friendship the protagonist had with Krishna, the sacrifices made for the war, and her relationship with her husband with utmost delicacy and perfection.

This read for me, in a way, turned out to be Drapaudi’s biography, which was much needed. This book captured all the relevant information right from her birth to the last journey she undertook through the sloppy Himalayas with her husband where she met her end on Earth. It is a book that can inspire women of every generation. The values that the events in this retelling of a heritage hold are ever relevant and applicable in everyday life. This story celebrates once again a remarkable and deeply human story about a woman born in a man’s world. So, overall this book was nothing short of an enthralling and engaging read.

To end it with a quote that hit home, ‘Aren’t we all pawns in the hands of time, the greatest player of them all?’