Chitra Banerjee beautifully and poetically paints that picture beyond death where human beings are freed from all the bondages of the earthly life. As Draupdi is dying the only person she is conscious of is Krishna, the only love to stand by her at the hour of death. He makes her think of her life, she remembers the whole sequence of events, even her birth. She realizes that she just played her part, did what she was supposed to do. The Palace of Illusions attempts to give one of the strong women in this epic a voice. The author makes Panchaali retell the story of famous epic the way she might have perceived it. As opposed to male centric interpretations, she tells her own reasons for saying what she said and doing what she did. She narrates her own journey from childhood to the end of her life on this earth. The novel traces the evolution of Draupadi from an insecure girl who avoided social contact due to her dark skin to a great queen playing a significant role in the historically defining moments. As a well known character, Draupadi has been much maligned and misunderstood. But as she tells her own story we realise that she was just a human being, reacting like a normal person in what were undoubtedly abnormal and challenging circumstances.