The character-driven narratives have expanded the realm of traditional narratives found in ancient epics. Karna's wife, as depicted in Kavita Kan 's Karna's Wife: The Outcast's Queen, is an example of this invention. This paper explores Uruvi's character and her perspective in the modern retelling of the Mahabharata. While Vrushali is Karna's wife, Uruvi emerges as a new character, imagined by the writer, when she is introduced as his wife. Through an analysis of retellings such as Karna's Wife: The Outcast's Queen, this study examines changes in the focalization of the story. This paper also highlights the effect of character-driven narratives, 'Uruvi', on the interpretation of the epic. It examines the narrative strategy (focalisation) used to convey Karna's point of view through the character of Uruvi by shedding light on the narrative mechanics of character introduction and development. This paper argues that Uruvi's story is an excellent example of how modern writers shape the perspective of contemporary audiences through these retellings while re-examining the epic.
Doctoral Fellow, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), University of Allahabad, Prayagraj
