The novel's inspiration is the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. It may be regarded as a historically notable Malayalam-language novel as it has become a yardstick for epic Malayalam fiction, spawning many Mahabharata based-novels.
The novel is the story of Karna, developed through the viewpoint of Draupadi in the reflection of her life story. The book begins at the end of the Kurukshetra War. Yudhishthira has just learned that Karna, the much-hated enemy of the Pandavas, killed by Arjuna is his brother. Draupadi, the wife of all the Pandava brothers, is unable to understand her sense of guilt surrounding the situation. However, she soon learns more about the once-hated Karna. Draupadi's feelings towards Karna change through the course of the novel. As the wife of all the Pandava brothers, she comes to realize, had Karna accepted the offer to become the eldest Pandava and consented to rule the kingdom, he would have been her husband.
Draupadi considers life in retrospect, contemplating the life of Karna and unveiling his stature as a tragic hero. She recognizes the gallant warrior Karna has fallen before the prejudices of those who surround him. Karna becomes encompassed in an all-destructive war. Meanwhile, Draupadi, the chaste and dutiful wife of the Pandavas, also reflects on her understandings. She finds that the fundamentals and morals she had come to believe in life, crumbled before her own eyes. There is a sense of destruction and abandonment shared between these two characters. The book crafts a contemporary relevance to the tribulations of the tragic hero, Karna, and the struggles of the quintessential woman, Draupadi.
PK Balakrishnan tells the story of Karna through the eyes of a woman in his award-winning novel Ini Njan Urangatte. This novel attracted the recognition of the Kerala Sahithya Akademi with the Award in the novel category and the Vayalar Award.
