Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

@article{193853,
        author = {Nishant Kumar Dubey},
        title = {Voicing Draupadi: Feminist Reinterpretation in The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {10},
        pages = {2113-2120},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=193853},
        abstract = {Mythological narratives have historically been shaped by patriarchal perspectives that silence or marginalise female voices. Contemporary feminist writers often revisit these narratives to recover the experiences and agency of women characters who were previously portrayed as secondary figures. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Palace of Illusions (2008) represents one such literary intervention. The novel retells the story of the Indian epic Mahabharata through the voice of Draupadi, offering a feminist reinterpretation of a traditionally male-centred narrative. By granting narrative authority to Draupadi, Divakaruni reconstructs her identity as an autonomous and reflective individual rather than a passive symbol within the epic. This research article examines how the novel reimagines Draupadi’s voice and agency through feminist narrative strategies. Using feminist literary theory and myth criticism, the study analyses how the text challenges patriarchal representations of mythological women. It also explores themes of gender inequality, identity formation, emotional subjectivity and resistance. The article argues that Divakaruni’s retelling not only transforms the characterisation of Draupadi but also contributes to broader feminist discourse by reinterpreting mythology from a woman-centred perspective.},
        keywords = {Feminist reinterpretation, Draupadi, Mythology, Feminist narratology, Myth revision, Indian English literature, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni},
        month = {March},
        }