Rama and Krishna were fundamentally the same, operating as reincarnations of Lord Vishnu himself. Both avatars appeared as human people on Earth and had a specific mission: uphold the basic fundamentals of Dharma. Yet their approaches to their main purposes throughout their respective stories in the Ramayana and Mahabharata are vastly different. Krishna’s approach to upholding Dharma resulted in the pyrrhic victory of an entire generation and the loss of an entire generation for the Pandavas and Krishna’s own eventual cursing at the hands of Gandhari while Rama’s approach led to an era of peace and prosperity associated with the Treta Yuga period. Due to their portrayals, leadership styles through trials of their era, and perspectives on the principle of Dharma, Lord Rama’s approach to Dharma in the Ramayana vastly acted as the foundation of the “innocence age” that was the Treta Yuga while Lord Krishna’s approach to Dharma in the Mahabharata acted as the basis for self-righteousness no matter the consequences ushered in the transition from Dvapara Yuga to Kali Yuga (“dark ages”) time period.