, after years of waiting and yearning, on a full moon night, to his parents King Shuddhodana and Queen Mahamaya, he was a unique child, even at birth. Carrying the 32 signs of greatness and predicted to be the savior of humankind by some, and a mighty king of kings by others, Siddhartha proved both the prophesies to be true. In his growing years, he was the ideal warrior prince, the pride of his father’s eyes and later to his lovely wife Yashodhara, he was the devoted and sensitive husband that all women dream of, but few are blessed with. Despite his father’s extreme protection of him from seeing suffering of any kind, lest he move towards fulfilling the latter prophecy of him being a thinker and philosopher, even as a child, Siddhartha, by his very nature, ever-questioned and pondered about all phenomena around him. Siddhartha wondered about all things- from social to physical and natural to man-made, and he was hugely compassionate and uncompetitive by nature. Siddhartha’s questions were not born out of the natural curiosity of a young boy about the world around, but of a deeply rational yet philosophical concern for the state of the world that he saw around him, and his devastation was compounded in his youth when the wall of protection from seeing suffering that his father had built around him, crumbled. It was an enlightenment, that shone not only his path on earth, but also showed the way forward for all mankind, that would illuminate the world with his teachings for thousands of years to come, as it gave birth to the Buddha-a word that today symbolizes truth, peace, love, compassion and righteousness that he stood for, like no other. It is no wonder then that there is a revival of the relevance of Buddha’s teachings and beliefs in the modern world. Most of the early episodes in the series center around the plotting of Dronadhan, Mangala, and Devadatta - the uncle, aunt, and cousin of Siddhartha - to undermine King Shuddhodana and kill Siddhartha. Their plots always fail, and the goodness of Siddhartha always wins and grows. Much of this drama as shown in the series is not actually part of the Buddha historical writings. Though Devadatta did have a rivalry with Siddhartha, it wasn't to the extent as shown in the series, where Devadatta and his parents abuse and kill numerous people. The series also shows an extreme rivalry between Siddhartha and Devadatta for the hand in marriage of Yashodhara, even to the point of a fighting contest to determine the best warrior. However, in genuine history, Yashodhara was actually Devadatta's sister. Still, the character of Siddhartha is dramatic and moving in many ways, and shows his deep respect for all life, whether it be a person, cheetah, duck, ant or scorpion, to whom he always shows forgiveness and mercy.
Production
Nidhi Yasha and Varsha Jain are main crew behind the sets and costumes on the show. The first shot of Buddha was taken at the magnanimous set created at the Film City in Mumbai on the auspicious occasion of Buddha Purnima on 27 May 2013.
International broadcast
Controversies
The cable operators of Nepal banned the series' telecast as it had announced in promotional materials that the Buddha was born in India. Following outrage on Nepalese social media, Zee TV and Kabir Bedi later apologized for the mistake. Other controversies related to the television series involved several details that were never mentioned anywhere in the Buddhist scriptures, such as:
The first wife of king Shuddodhana, a sterile woman, being able to bear a child after a yajna was held.
The name of Shuddodhana's brother being Durnodhan.
Everywhere, the existence of a Brahmin is shown in the serial. The 'Digha Nikaya' of the 'Tri Pitaka' scriptures mentions that one person asked the Buddha, "Why did the residents of Kapilavastu do not respect the Brahmins?" This suggests that the people of Kapilavastu, the city of King Shuddhodhana, were atheist, like the sage Kapila himself and his followers. Kapila was considered as a predecessor of the Buddha.
Therefore, the existence and guidance of Brahmins at every stage of Buddha's life, or by his father's, is away from the truth. Rhys Davis, a researcher in the subject, has mentioned that "there was not any Brahminical influence in the Sakya and Koliyas. There was not any caste system. There was not any King in Kapilvastu. There was no worship of human gods in Kapilvastu."
Critical reception
Daily News and Analysis praised the performances of all the actors of Buddha, says Sameer Dharmadhikari aka Suddhodana Acting is first rated.
