Panchaali-Her Life, Her Voice and Her Vision Fulwani Priya Student, Department of English, Sophia Girls’ College, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India, Email id: priyafulwani61@gmail.com Online published on 18 July, 2017. Abstract The Palace of Illusions (2008) takes the readers back to the Dwapar Yug and narrates the epic of Mahabharata from Panchaali's point of view. Though everyone is familiar with the episodes and the storyline of this epic, however, here the focus is on the inner feelings of Panchaali who was named Draupadi because she was the daughter of Draupad. This novel presents the story of Panchaali right from her birth from fire to the ignorance of her proud father for her being a girl, her rebellious streak to do what boys did, her avoidance of the tasks meant for girls, her dilemma at knowing the prophecy that she would marry five men and change the course of history, her strong passion for Karna, her equation with Krishna and her brother Dhri, her remorse and anger at being shamed in the game of dice, her desire for vengeance making her husbands fight to restore her lost honour resulting in the Battle of Kurukshetra, her dream to have a palace of her own, her pain at losing her loved ones and finally departing for the other world as a mark of repentance and renunciation. Embracing her ‘self’ makes her a very courageous woman who interrogates the process of history and thus leaves an indelible mark on it. This novel presents the feelings of Panchaali at every stage of her life and her unrequited love for Karna which she keeps a secret till the end. It ends in her union with him beyond this world and with her acceptance that the palace of death is the only palace which is not an illusion. Top Keywords Kurukshetra, Kindhara, Pandavas, Kauravas, Hastinapur, Indra Prastha, Swayamwar. Top |