The Transcendental Self
Demystifying Pāñcālī in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Palace of Illusions
Abstract
The study concentrates on the story of Pāñcālī, the female protagonist of the Indian epic Mahābhārata. One of the most provocative and mythical characters, Pāñcālī has been subject to numerous interpretations. Chitra Divakaruni demystifies her and renders an authentic female experience without the affliction of canonical tradition. The palaces Pāñcālī inhabits become embodiments of a nationalist culture vitiated with concerns of cognitive dominance. Her efforts to break the shackles of tradition require her to counter such discourse with an entirely new aesthetic of narration and experience, one that is intimately connected to her “self.” Her futile efforts to construct a palace as a retributive symbol and her inadequacy at understanding the strength of the female self finally lead her to a self-sufficient, self-engaged rhetoric of completion. We deviate from standardized models of feminist critiques and employ Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism for interrogating the female experience as a whole. The story of Pāñcālī is the story of the woman rising above her destiny; hers is the story of becoming Kṣṇā.
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