Sunday 17 April 2016

Rama vs Krishna

Rama and Krishna are known to be India's famous mythological figures. Some may claim them to be historical but that is not what interests me. What really intrigues me is that both Ram and Krishna are characters who are kind of diametrically opposite to each other. If Ram stands for rules which needs to be established in society to achieve stability and equilibrium, Krishna stands for removing redundant rules which may bring stability but cause injustice. One is who sacrificed almost his whole life for the sake of abiding by the rules and the other is who bends them. Mind u Krishna doesn't bend them for convenience like most of us humans do to get things done our way. He bends rules for justice and gives new meaning to dharma. In this day and age we have reduced Ram to be a 'Hindu god' and Krishna limited to his 'leela's forgetting what they really stand for. What we really need as a society is not Rama vs Krishna ,it's Rama and Krishna. As much as stability is important in a society, abolishing redundant rules which tend to oppress the weak are also equally important. As we can see ,with time monogamy has been upheld and sati has been abolished. Further if we observe keenly we wil realise that all of us have these two tendencies in different proportions. There are some of us who are obedient and never cross the line. And rest of us who bend their lines to accommodate what we feel is right. The big question is not about which of the two is right because ultimately what matters is justice.

2 comments:

  1. Great writing....
    Its only the symbiosis of Dharma and Yukti that works.And both the mythological figures universalise this inter-relationship.
    Admirable conception Anupama!!

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    Replies
    1. As you rightly summarised, it's symbiosis of dharma and yukti that works. Thanks a lot for your encouraging words :-)

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