Book: Karna’s Wife, The Outcast’s Queen
Author: Kavita Kane
Publication: Rupa Publications
Price: Rs. 295
Pages: 310
Plot: Karna’s Wife is a fictional book, based on Mahabharata. It is a retelling of the epic from Uruvi’s point of view. Uruvi (a fictional character) is the princess of Pukeya. She is the daughter of King Vahusha and Queen Shubhra, who are friends with Bhishma Pitamaha, King Dhritrashtra, Queen Gandhari and Kunti. As a child, Uruvi was adored by all, even Gandhari and Bhishma Piatamaha laughed at her silly questions. Kunti loved her as her daughter and wished that she will become her daughter-in-law one day.
The book starts at the arena of the tournament where Pandavas and Kauravas are showcasing their skills. There Uruvi saw Karna for the first time and fell in love with him. Since then she was sure that she wanted to marry him. But this is not what everyone expected from her. Her parents were against her choice and wanted her to rethink her decision. Everyone wanted her to marry Arjun. But Uruvi was in love with Karna.
Uruvi did what her heart wanted, she chose Karna in her swayamwara, and from there starts their story. Everyone said Uruvi was a fool to marry Karna. But they were happy in their world, until Draupadi vastraharan. After Draupadi vastraharan, Uruvi was torn between morality and love. She choose to part ways from Karna, but could not do so for a long time.
We all know the story of Mahabharat but this book is the story of Mahabharata from Uruvi’s point of view, how the Draupadi vastraharan, her vow and the war changed their life.
My Views: Let’s talk about the characters first. Uruvi is an intense fiery woman, she stands for herself, and for the women around her. She is intelligent, understanding and someone who feels all her emotions. Her growth as an individual can be seen in the book.
Reading Mahabharata from different point of views has always intrigued me. But if the author shows that the only wise and good-hearted person in the whole epic is the one whose point of view we are reading and their loved ones, then there is a huge problem. This is what I faced in this book. I enjoyed reading it, but at times I felt that other characters have not been given justice. There was an instance where Uruvi’s mother was proud of her decision to marry Karna, not Arjun because if she would have married Arjun, it could have been her in place of Draupadi. What I find the most problematic here was, she didn’t question her son-in-law’s actions, she said that Pandavas could not protect their wife. This is an example of some problematic situations in the book.
At times, it felt like Karna was the only good-hearted person in the whole epic and he was the victim of all the evil deeds. Mahabharata is an epic where every character has their shades, good or bad. It is interesting to read about those shades. But according to me, this book could not do justice to it.
Also, Uruvi is a fictional character, I understand that it is a fictional book, but I feel that a fictional character can take away the struggle of real characters, like Karna’s real wives. I think it would have been interesting to know their point of view.
Overall, I enjoyed reading it, I think only because I enjoy reading Mahabharata. But there are many things which I expect from a book on the epic, and I think this book is not up to that mark.
Recommendations: Read it if you like reading Mahabharata.
Ratings: 3/5
If you like reading books based on Indian Mythology, here is the book review of Krishna Key.
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