“Those fourteen thousand Rakshasas of frightening deeds were eliminated by that one man, a foot-soldier, who was Rama.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 26.35)

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चतुर्दश सहस्राणि रक्षसां भीमकर्मणाम्
हतान्येकेन रामेण मानुषेण पदातिना

caturdaśa sahasrāṇi rakṣasāṃ bhīmakarmaṇām
hatānyekena rāmeṇa mānuṣeṇa padātinā

“I know that you keep trying to sell people on this idea of one God. You can also settle upon a single book, if that is the route a person wants to go. Everything can also be satisfied with a single mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

“People can worship Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They can read and study Bhagavad-gita. They can chant the name of Krishna. No more reason for dispute; everything is settled. This way of living can continue for an entire lifetime. It can extend out to as many lifetimes as there will be in the future. That is the substance to the definition of sanatana-dharma, which is real religion.

“That is fine and good, but then we also see worship of Shri Rama. When questioned, you tell us that there is really no difference, that Rama is the same as Krishna. I realize that some traditions rooted in the Vedas consider Vishnu to be the original Godhead, while others say that it is Krishna. Therefore, Rama is either an incarnation of Vishnu or an expansion of Krishna, depending on which group you follow.

“It is a little confusing to the new person, wouldn’t you say? How are they supposed to understand this concept of a single God, in contrast to the prevailing opinion of Hinduism, with the incorrect characterization of worship of many gods? What is the real difference? Why do some people worship Rama over Krishna, and vice versa? Why would the Supreme Lord confuse people in this way?”

To add to the confusion, consider that there is not one settled upon standard of worship for Shri Krishna. Some people worship Him as Gopala, who is the child living in the farm community of Gokula-Vrindavana. Gopala is known as the butter thief. He is the mischief-maker who intentionally breaks a pot of yogurt in anger, runs away in fear, and then hides in a secret place to share some of the goods with monkeys local to the area.

उलूखलाङ्‌घ्रेरुपरि व्यवस्थितं
मर्काय कामं ददतं शिचि स्थितम्
हैयङ्गवं चौर्यविशङ्कितेक्षणं
निरीक्ष्य पश्चात् सुतमागमच्छनै:

ulūkhalāṅghrer upari vyavasthitaṁ
markāya kāmaṁ dadataṁ śici sthitam
haiyaṅgavaṁ caurya-viśaṅkitekṣaṇaṁ
nirīkṣya paścāt sutam āgamac chanaiḥ

“Krishna, at that time, was sitting on an upside-down wooden mortar for grinding spices and was distributing milk preparations such as yogurt and butter to the monkeys as He liked. Because of having stolen, He was looking all around with great anxiety, suspecting that He might be chastised by His mother. Mother Yashoda, upon seeing Him, very cautiously approached Him from behind.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.9.8)

Others worship Krishna alongside Shrimati Radharani, who is the eternal pleasure potency. She is like the feminine side of the single Supreme Lord. The two together represent God and the ideal service to God. In other regions of the world, there is worship of Panduranga Vitthala alongside Rukmini Devi. In some places, there is focus on Krishna as the chariot-driver to the warrior named Arjuna. During the time of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, there was an illiterate brahmana who would worship through remembrance, smaranam, simply by holding the book called Bhagavad-gita.

यावत् पडोङ्, तावत् पाङ ताङ्र दरशन
एइ लागि’ गीता-पाठ ना छाडे मोर मन

yāvat paḍoṅ, tāvat pāṅa tāṅra daraśana
ei lāgi’ gītā-pāṭha nā chāḍe mora mana

“As long as I read the Bhagavad-gita, I simply see the Lord’s beautiful features. It is for this reason that I am reading the Bhagavad-gita, and my mind cannot be distracted from this.” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 9.101)

It is said that the mercy of the Supreme Lord is causeless. We are perpetually in confusion. If a person were to chart out the timeline of creation, as they understand it, arbitrarily choosing beginning and ending points, we should understand that there is mass confusion during any of the points. Whether one hundred years ago, one thousand years ago, or even today, the population of creatures, bhutas, is covered by the illusory energy known as maya.

पुरुषः प्रकृति-स्थो हि
भुङ्क्ते प्रकृति-जान् गुणान्
कारणं गुण-सङ्गो ऽस्य
सद्-असद्-योनि-जन्मसु

puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi
bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān
kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ‘sya
sad-asad-yoni-janmasu

“The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil amongst various species.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.22)

Because of His causeless mercy, God descends whenever and wherever He chooses. He establishes the general parameters warranting the visits, such as the rise of irreligion and the persecution of the saintly class. When adharma dominates over dharma and the sadhus face untold harassment and interference, the original Personality of Godhead might appear on this earth.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य
ग्लानिर् भवति भारत
अभ्युत्थानम् अधर्मस्य
तदात्मानं सृजाम्य् अहम्

yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham

“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion – at that time I descend Myself.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.7)

The nature of the appearance is not always the same. The exact visual on display, the saguna form, might be specifically configured to the situation, such as with the Narasimha avatara. This was a half-man/half-lion, who took birth from a pillar and used nails as weapons, which attacked in between the daytime and the nighttime, while holding the enemy in the air.

Shri Rama is one such visual, as is Krishna. If we are looking for a condensed version of an explanation on the difference, we can say that Rama plays the part of the ideal man. Imagine if someone went up to us and asked the following questions:

“What advice would you give to the aspiring human? I want to be the best person I can be. I want to work in such a way that I can look back at the time of death and not be embarrassed. What steps should I take? What knowledge should I gather? Whose example should I follow?

These questions were similarly discussed one time between Maharishi Valmiki and the sage named Narada. We can get answers by hearing the Ramayana, which is a Sanskrit poem subsequently composed by Valmiki. The Ramayana describes the ideal man. It is a narrative rooted in history. Rama appeared on this earth, and He was the ideal man based on the combination of tremendous responsibility coupled with tremendous hardship.

एतदाख्यानमायुष्यं पठन्रामायणं नर:
सपुत्रपौत्रस्सगण: प्रेत्य स्वर्गे महीयते

etadākhyānamāyuṣyaṃ paṭhanrāmāyaṇaṃ nara:
saputrapautrassagaṇa: pretya svarge mahīyate

“The man who reads and recites this narration of the Ramayana will be blessed with a long duration of life and after death will be welcomed and respectfully received in the heavenly region, along with sons, grandsons, and relatives.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kand, 1.99)

There are external justifications for the descent of Krishna to this world. There were certain issues to handle, but the example set is a little different. While Shri Rama shows the ideal man, Krishna shows the ideal God. With Krishna, there are not as many limitations to the behavior. This makes sense, if we think about it. If Vishnu created the heavens, outer space, and the sun, why should He have to listen to anyone? Why would He ever be restricted in His interactions, in giving love and support to those who want it?

While Rama is known for extraordinary feats such as lifting the bow in the contest to win the hand in marriage of Sita Devi, Krishna is known for stealing butter. While Rama will go to extraordinary lengths to protect the name of His father, Krishna might take on a bad name by fleeing the battlefield. While Rama observes the eka-patni-vrata, Krishna will marry more than sixteen-thousand queens, if they should need support and shelter after surviving a harrowing ordeal.

Shri Rama once defended against fourteen thousand Rakshasas attacking at a single time. A classic case of the bad guys against the good guys. Except this time it was only one good guy. Like going against a gang of bullies, Rama was merely on foot. This one incident can be meditated upon for lifetime after lifetime.

Krishna lifts up the massive Govardhana Hill to protect the innocent villagers from the wrath of Indra, the king of heaven. This is supposedly a good guy attacking his former worshipers for the innocent decision to one time skip a worship ceremony in his honor. There is so much nuance and detail involved in the known appearances in this world of the Almighty that a condensed explanation does not do justice to the inquiry.

Still, the scientific principles apply to any of the avataras of Vishnu. Whether we consider Krishna as the original or Vishnu as the single source, there is really no difference. The promise of liberation, of release from the cycle of birth and death, through a consciousness fixed on the Almighty, in the manner of Bhishma departing this world and merging into Narayana, applies all the same.

सूत उवाच
कृष्ण एवं भगवति
मनो-वाग्-दृष्टि-वृत्तिभिः
आत्मन्य् आत्मानम् आवेश्य
सो ऽन्तःश्वास उपारमत्

sūta uvāca
kṛṣṇa evaṁ bhagavati
mano-vāg-dṛṣṭi-vṛttibhiḥ
ātmany ātmānam āveśya
so ‘ntaḥśvāsa upāramat

“Suta Gosvami said: Thus Bhishmadeva merged himself in the Supersoul, Lord Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with his mind, speech, sight and actions, and thus he became silent, and his breathing stopped.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.9.43)

In Closing:

All good qualities to see,
The best to worship is He.

Since one time lifting the bow,
Dealing to attackers mortal blow.

Later through different example led,
Where thousands of queens to wed.

With Rama and Krishna difference not much,
Both the original God as such.

Categories: fourteen thousand, questions

Tags: avataras, dailyprompt, feature, poem, poems, poetry, ramayana, vishnu