Rama and Krishna -contradictory or complementary?

[Guest guest]

It is true that there is a lot of opposites in the two avatharas but

you cannot say that they are contradictory but they are really not

only complementary, but rather complimentary to each other, I would

say. One commentator has said that there is only one similarity in

both avatharas in that both of them first killed a woman who stood

for adharma , Rama killed Thataka and Krishna, Poothana!.The reason

is that it is more dangerous when a woman opposes dharam than a

man.Otherwise there are differences in each and every

aspect.Ramavthara happened in daytime,in Uttarayana, and Krishna was

born in the night in dhakshinayana.Rama gave joy to his mother while

Devaki became a soorowful mother because she had to part with him as

soos as he was born.The son of the Sungod Sugreeve was the friend of

Rama while Karna, the suryaputhra was opposed to Kridshna and the

roles of the sons of Indra, vali and arjuna werre also reversed in

the same manner.Rama was a Ekapathni vratha while Krishna had many

wives. In Ramayana Hanuman went as the messenger of Rama whereas in

Krishnavathara , he himself went as a messenger of Pandavas For this

also a beautiful reason is imagined by the commentators, which I

will relate in the end. Rama was brought up as a prince but

underwent rigours of forestlife but Krishna was brought up as a

cowherd and lived as a prince.Rama kept his word but Krishna was

called " ElAppoygal urAippAn,' by Godha in her Nacchiar thirumoZi,

teased the gopies by his false promises! More than anything else,

Rama stood for dharmathatthva and Krishna for Brahmathatthva.Rama

lived and spoke like a human but Krishna was the supreme Lord through

out and never disguised His divinity to those who were pure in

heart.But still thereis no contradiction because the LOrd as Rama

lived the life which He was going to describr in Krishnavathara

through His Gita.IN this manner the two avatharas were complementary

and also a compliment to each other..

 

Now to come to the point of dhouthyam. Hanuman says in Sundarakanda

to Sita aas well as to Rama that normally only persons of lower cadre

will be sent as a messenger in order to assure sita that others in te

army of Sugriva are more competent than him, which dialogue he

repeats to Rama ' na hi prakrshtaa preshyanthe ,preshyanthe heethare

janaah.' So perhaps the Lord doubted whether Maruthi really thoght

like that and hence in Krishnavathara He Himself went as a dhootha to

show the excellence of the dhouthyam to reassure Hanuman!

 

 

 

Saroja Ramanujam