Power s Labyrinth: Sectarian Strife and Subversion in Udayasankar s Kurukshetra

Krishna Udayasankar's Kurukshetra, the final installment of the Aryavarta Chronicles, reimagines the Mahabharata's climactic war as a speculative clash between the tech-progressive Firewrights and the caste-rigid Firstborns, subverting traditional epic piety in favor of gritty political intrigue. These modern retelling critiques power's corrupting duality, nationalism's perils, and gender subjugation, framing Panchali's trauma as emblematic of Aryavarta's systemic violation. Udayasankar transforms mythic dharma into sectarian strife, with the Firewrights' astras symbolizing technology's ethical hazards and the Firstborns' divine order, echoing contemporary extremism and the state's capture of knowledge. Women's agency shines through Panchali's resilient leadership, which rejects patriarchal norms. Unlike Draupadi-centric retellings such as Divakaruni's or Anand's moral deconstructions, Udayasankar's sci-fi lens bridges ancient myth to modern anxieties, revitalizing the epic's philosophical core for a fractured world. The narrative warns of intellectuals' moral surrender fueling national ruin, urging reflection on progress, purity, and power.