KARNA’S WIFE: THE OUTCAST’S QUEEN BY KAVITA KANE

Abstract

Kavita Kane’s Karna’s Wife: The Outcast’s Queen presents a radical reimagining of the Mahabharata through the lens of a largely forgotten female figure—Uruvi, the fictional wife of Karna. Departing from the epic’s traditional focus on dharma and heroism, Kane centers the narrative on love, moral ambiguity, social exclusion, and gendered silence. The novel interrogates the politics of caste, class, and gender by portraying Karna not only as a tragic hero but as a socially marginalized figure whose identity is shaped as much by societal rejection as by personal loyalty.