Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev (transl. Lord of the Lords… Mahadev), often abbreviated as DKDM, is a series based on Mahadev, one of the main deities of Hinduism. It premiered on 18 December 2011, airing Monday to Friday nights on Life OK. The 820-episode series concluded on 14 December 2014. The entire series has been made available on Disney+ Hotstar and Hulu.
Contents
Plot
The show's plot revolves around the story of Lord Shiva, which follows his journey from being an ascetic to a family man.
During the creation of the world according to Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma, Adi Parashakti leaves Shiva from his Ardhanarishvara form. In order to shape the universe, she takes various births to marry Shiva but fails 106 times due to which Shiva becomes an ascetic. Hence Lord Brahma suggests his mind-born son Prajapati Daksh to please Adi Shakti and request her to incarnate as his daughter.
Adi Parashakti is born the 107th time as Daksh's daughter Sati. Meanwhile, Shiva cuts off Brahma's fifth head making Daksh hate him. Sati falls for Shiva and finally marries him, much to Daksh's dismay. Hence, Daksh humiliates Shiva in front of Sati in his yagna. Unable to tolerate her husband's insult, Sati sacrifices her life once again. An infuriated Shiva orders Virabhadra to behead Daksh. Later, he revives him at Prasuti's request and goes into deep meditation for centuries.
Adi Parashakti then is born as Parvati the 108th time as the daughter of Himavan and his wife Menavati. She is aware of her divinity as are her parents, and grows up in Dadichi's hermitage. From an early age, she starts addressing Mahadev/Shiva as her husband which Menavati, as a concerned mother, dislikes strongly.
When she grows up, Parvati tries to make Mahadev realize that she is none other than his wife Sati reincarnated. But he rejects her and in the process, turns Kamadev into ashes. As a result, Kama's distraught wife, Rati curses Parvati.
Parvati then agrees to marry as per her mother, Menavati's wish. However eventually Parvati and Himavan make Menavati realise who Parvati is, after which she gives in. Parvati goes on to meditate for 3,000 years to please Mahadev to marry her. And finally, Mahadev and Parvati are married. Later, Mahadev imparts some tantric knowledge to Parvati that helps her to take various forms like Nav Durga; Mahavidyas (Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Tripura Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamala) and Matrikas to destroy Raktabeej, Shumbha Nishumbha, Chanda Munda, Durgmasura, Arunasura, Banasura, etc.
Cast
Main
Mohit Raina as Lord Shiva / Lord Mahakala / Lord Virabhadra / Lord Bhairava / Ardhanarishvara / Lord Martanda Bhairava (Khandoba) / Lord Nataraja / Lord Lohita (Elder) (also played demon Jalandhara for few episodes) (2011-2014)
Mouni Roy as Goddess Sati / Goddess Adi Shakti / Adi Parashakti (2011-2014)
Sonarika Bhadoria / Puja Banerjee / Suhasi Dhami as Goddess Parvati / Goddess Adi Shakti / Goddess Adi Parashakti / Goddess Kali / Goddess Mahakali / Goddess Bhadrakali / Goddess Tara / Goddess Tripura Sundari / Goddess Bhuvaneshvari / Goddess Bhairavi / Chhinnamasta / Goddess Dhumavati / Goddess Bagalamukhi / Ardhanarishvara / Goddess Durga / Goddess Shailaputri / Goddess Brahmacharini / Goddess Chandraghanta / Goddess Kushmanda / Goddess Skandamata / Goddess Katyayani / Goddess Kalaratri / Goddess Mahagauri / Goddess Siddhidhatri / Mumba Devi / Goddess Mhalsa / Goddess Gayatri / Goddess Meenakshi / (2011) / (2012-2013) / (2013-2014) / (2014)
Darshan Gurjar / Rushiraj Pawar as Lord Kartikeya (2012) / (2012-2014)
Sadhil Kapoor / Alpesh Dhakan / Ehsaan Bhatia as Lord Ganesha (2012) / (2013-2014) / (2014)
Sourabh Raaj Jain as Lord Vishnu / Lord Rama / Lord Krishna / Dattatreya (2011-2014)
Piyush Sahdev as Lord Rama (2013)
Ragini Rishi as Goddess Lakshmi / Goddess Sita / Goddess Radha / Vedavati / Goddess Rukmini / Haripriya (2011-2014)
Rubina Dilaik as Goddess Sita (2013)
RidhaKrishna Dutta as Lord Brahma (2011-2014)
Puja Kameshwar Sharma / Salina Prakash / Via Roy Choudhary as Goddess Saraswati (2011-2012) / (2012-2013) / (2013-2014)
Production
Development
Ritoo Jenjani had done the prosthetic makeup for the presentation of Kali.
90 people were working in the graphic department of the series. An episode of the series cost ₹14 Lakhs for production.
In April 2014, a fire broke out on one of the show's sets in Mumbai. However, none were injured with only minor damages to property.
Casting
Sonarika Bhadoria was replaced by Puja Bannerjee as Parvati in July 2013. However, in June 2014 Bannerjee quit citing health issues and was replaced by Suhasi Dhami. Mouni Roy who quit the series with the end of her role in 2012 returned as Sati in 2014.
Home media
The series was released on DVD in 2014 by Ultra Media & Entertainment.
Reception
Ratings
The series started with a viewership rating of 0.7 TVR. Following which in the initial six months, it ranged between 2 and 3 TVR. Later, the episode of 9 September 2012, featuring Kali killing the demon Raktabija rated the show its highest viewership with an 8.2 TVR being the highest TVR of Hindi television program during the year.
In week 3 of 2013, it garnered an average rating of 3 TVR. In week 7, it was one of the top ten watched Hindi GEC program with 3.6 TVR.
Critics
Amar Ujala claimed that some events mentioned in the series were distorted and not mentioned in any Puranas and Shastra.
Legacy
Mohit Raina featured in Limca Book of Records for the portrayal of about 52 characters in the series with his main role being Shiva.
