Reviews For Episode 19 Of Upanishad Ganga | Hindi TV Serial On DVD

Episode #19 of Hindi TV Serial Upanishad Ganga starts a 3 episode series on 16 Samskaras. Samskar or Samskara is a broad word and it include many other things in addition to characteristics, embodiment and more. Each samskara should do (ideally) human embodiment of purification in one’s life.

हिरण्यमयेन पात्रेण सत्यस्यापिहितं मुखम्। तत्त्वं पूषन्नपावृणु सत्य धर्माय दृष्टये॥
Meaning: O Sun God, The Golden Vessel has concealed the Truth within, open it for me so I can explore it!

The makers have decided to explore each of 16 Samskara in very interesting way. Surdas (aka Soordas or Surdasa) was a Lord Krishna devotee. He was blind but his eye of the devotion towards Lord Krishna was quite well open. The content of the episode is staged as Lord Krishan came to understand about each of the 16 Samskara from Soordas as an enthusiastic kid and he explains the importance and details about each one to Krishna.

Actually Indian way of life which is known as Hinduism is highly inherited from the Sanatan Dharma, the ultimate way of ideal living. It considers each important phase of life as a turning point of life. And each of this significant point should be respected embodied with some important stuff, which in turn can play an important part in vital improvement in the person to make him/her better human being.

1. Garbhadhan Samskar (गर्भाधान संस्कार)

It starts with the Garbhadhan Samskar, the early beginning of a new human life.

The way it is described is simply superb. Surdasji says that in order to invite a new Janki or Ram, Radha or Shyam in the family, a couple pays respect to the ultimate power and invites the pure soul to their family. What a height of the thought! Can you imagine any other culture so purely thinking about the incident of seeing a child in the mother’s womb?! Of course, every culture respects the incident and enjoys the moment with pure joy and respect in it’s own manner. But this happens here at a different level.

A child is called a संतान in the culture. And a संतान is someone who expand the parents and family in all positive aspects. Everyone expects a child who can make his/her own life meaningful and does good things not only for himself/herself but for the entire family/society/mankind and the world.

Garbhadhan Samskara is celebration of this moment.

It is worth to explore in the episode how it is explained, nicely.

2. Punsamvan Samskar (पुंसवन संस्कार)

This is the second stage of one’s life. After a child is conceived, the couple (the would be parents) pays respect to the almighty and prays god for the betterment of the child.

Seeking the blessings of the elders and the God are part of almost every ceremony, and it is great to have so.

3. Simant Samskar (सीमन्त संस्कार) aka Baby Shower

Simant Samskar is also known as Baby Shower ceremony in some other cultures. It is usually head after a few months of first pregnancy is confirmed. The mother-to-be is showered with blessing and got a lot of gifts as well. The main idea is to keep her in happy mood. Because, it is a well known fact that only a happy and healthy mother can give birth to a mentally and physically healthy child.

4. JatKarma Samskar (जातकर्म संस्कार)

After the birth of the new born, on the 6 day precisely, the JatKarma ceremony is being held. On that day the home is cleaned up (it is good for the hygienic reasons, for both the mother and the child). The father of the child plays various Mantra in the newborn’s ear. It is a kind of starting of education.

5. NaamKaran Samskar (नामकरण संस्कार)

Till now the new born was not having a name, so now he or she is given a name through which he/she will be identified this point forward.

6. Nishkraman Samskar (निष्क्रमण संस्कार)

After 40 days of the birth, the child is taken out of the home. On this day he/she gets showered by Sun light. As the new born’s body and muscles are now growing and are capable to face the outer environment. In addition the requirement of Vitamin D and other stuffs is also growing, so facing direct sunlight is a good option for the kid.

7. AnnaPrashan Samskar (अन्नप्राशन संस्कार )

After the child gets of 6 months; he/she is given the processed/cooked food for the first time. Of course, the food is quite light but it is surely a starting point to eating habit.

8. Mundan Samskar (मुंडन संस्कार)

After around 1 year of age the Mundan Samskar takes place. In this Samskar, the head of the baby is shaved off (usually a few hears are left as Shikha). It open a way to get new healthy hairs and allow the head to grow properly. Also a message to get good vibes and knowledge from surroundings is given to the child.

9. KarnaVedh Samskar (कर्णवेध संस्कार)

KarnaVedh Samskar is performed by pinning holes in both the ears of the kid. It is then in future can be used to wear jewels there. Also it is an acupuncture which have it’s own benefits from the scientific perspective.

This episode explores above mentioned 9 Samskars. The execution is very thoughtful and the conversation between Surdas and Kanhai is quite joyful. The writer shows his brilliance by putting a dialog in Kanhai’s mouth where he asks Surdas about his name. It is not to miss scene of the episode.

The script is overall gripping. In addition to the conversation between Surdas and the kid, almost every ceremony is shown playing in between. This gives the viewers better idea of what it is being talked about.

We personally feel that more emphasis on each samskar could have been given by covering just 3-4 Samskars in this episode.

The dialogs are first rate and same for the background music. The episode mainly belongs to Ravi Khanvilkar who plays Surdas very effectively. A lot of facial expressions and gestures were required from him to play it convincingly and he doesn’t disappoint. He is simply superb here. The kid playing Kanhai is good too.

The wardrobe is simple and realistic. At the same time the use of stage is done thoughtfully for various scenes. You never miss the larger than the life setups throughout the episode.

The audio and video both are of the first rate quality in DVD set. The DVD set thus proves to be a valuable possession. It is a little pricey so wait for any good deal on an E-Commerce website to buy.

As many of the episodes of Upanishad Ganga are available to watch for free on YouTube officially, you can take advantage of that as well. Though this entire episode is not available (officially) for free to view on Internet, there are many users who have uploaded it.

Official Trailer UPNISHAD GANGA EPISODE 19 Shodasa Samskara 1 The 16 Milestones of Life 1 Soordas

Definite an episode which is worth watching. It introduces you to many customs we perform through our life knowingly or unknowingly. You will be inspired to think the logic behind each such custom and thank the thoughtful scholars who have understood the human life in such academic manner, and left the knowledge well document for us and coming generations.

If you like this article then do not forget to share this article with your friends over various social networks via Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and others. And yes, you may like to subscribe to our RSS feeds and follow us on various Social networks to get latest updates for the site to land right in your mail box. And yes, do let us know your remarks via comments below, we love to hear from you.