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.
Rama was Vishnu's seventh incarnation. The age in which he lived (Treta Yuga) believed in preserving the moral code or Dharma regardless of one's own circumstances. Rama exhibited this by deciding whether to live out his exile or send his wife away from him in order to fulfill his responsibilities as a king to the people. Rama was unaware that he was a god, and he was more human-like, appealing to ordinary beings and mankind. Born into a royal family, Rama had a far more princely and affluent childhood. Rama obtained the hand of the beautiful princess Sita, but was exiled for 14 years with her and his brother Laksmana due to his stepmother's machinations. Asura King Ravana kidnapped Sita in the forest, and Rama collected an army of monkeys and bears to track her out. The allies launched an invasion on Lanka, killing Ravana and rescuing Sita. Sita entered fire to prove her chastity, but was vindicated by the gods and returned to her husband. Rama's noble governance began a golden age for all mankind after the couple's successful return to Ayodhya.
Krishna was Vishnu's eighth incarnation. Krishna had a difficult childhood, having been born in a prison and having to battle for his life against numerous of his uncle's assassins. He was regarded as Dharma's defender. Unlike Rama, Krishna was fully aware from birth that he was a god, and he exploited this in his talents and power over humans. Krishna is revered as a devotional figure, yet he was also a cunning trickster. He was born during the Dvapara Yuga, a period when morality was already waning, and as a result, he worked as a guide to the path of the righteous, advising people on what to do, as he did with Arjuna during the Mahabharata, which led to the writing of the Bhagavad Gita. While the main goal of Rama's avatar was to defeat Ravana, the Asura (Demon) King, but Krishna's avatar's main goal was to transmit the Bhagavad Gita's highest message, to overcome evil and restore justice and righteousness to humankind. They exited the physical level of the earth once their purpose had been fulfilled.
When regarding their portrayals, Rama was depicted as one who was enlightened by his own humanity and often the symbol of human perfection. When the poet Valmiki asked the gods to name a man listed with virtues, the gods responded with the name of Rama.
“[He] began in his inward way, enunciating each attribute carefully: ‘Integrity, bravery, righteousness, gratitude, dedication to his beliefs, a flawless character, compassion for all living, learning, skill, beauty, courage beyond bravery, radiance,control over his anger and his desires, serenity, a lack of envy, and valor to awe Indra's Devas.’ As Narada's eyes grew wistful, Valmiki continued. ‘I know I am asking for perfection in a mere mortal. But I wondered if a man of this world could have all these, which not even the Gods possess.’ The sage was convinced his perfect man could only be the figment of a romantic imagination. Narada still gazes out over the river' crisp currents. [...]. At last he said softly, ‘In these very times such a man was born into the world. His name is Rama.’” Even the Hindu gods and goddesses do not necessarily possess all of Rama's attributes.
Krishna, however, was always depicted as an omniscient god in a human’s body. Krishna was fully aware of his own divinity from birth. Krishna described himself to Arjuna in the preambles of the Mahbharatha "I am Time, destroyer of worlds, fully developed, and I have set out here to bring the worlds to their end. Even without your presence in battle, all these warriors arrayed in opposing ranks will cease to be." Krishna even used his multi-headed Vishnu avatar form to get Arjuna to listen to his heedings and describe more clearly what the duty of a ruler is.
In the Ramayana, Rama’s role as an avatar still led to bold feats yet were indicative of his awareness of the human condition: Rama was described as polite, dignified, and a virtuous skilled archer. He had accomplished feats like breaking Lord Shiva's bow in Sita's swayamvar, used Gandharvastra to kill Khara's army of fourteen thousand demons, and even spared Ravana after their first encounter. Rama was always one for using his human abilities to challenge the gods and never utilized divinity for recreation. Rama’s lack of awareness around his divinity allowed him to make righteous decisions as a human with a duty. Rama’s Dharma was that of reclaiming what was truly his and returning to reclaim a throne that was taken from him as a result of his father’s mistakes and naivete. Yet Rama, himself, was also flawed and mistaken as a representation of human innocence, as he was naive to his stepmother and her maid’s plotting, was on the brink of taking his anger out on innocent people and animals until his brother Lakshmana calmed him down, and even fell into doubts and suspicions upon Sita’s faithfulness in the hands of Ravana. Rama was aware of his humanity and made decisions that were indicative of his virtuous being as a Kshatriya and achieved Dharma by reclaiming his wife and stopping an evil tyrant who could not be slain by gods, demons, or spirits, but rather a human. Rama’s story was molded by human mistake followed by divine intervention. The flaws that shaped his story and the virtue with which he empowered his own humanity, albeit an avatar of Vishnu, to challenge a threat that gods themselves couldn’t overthrow.
Throughout the Mahabharatha and accompanying texts, Krishna’s divinity and mischief were one of the main key traits depicted. Throughout his childhood and later into adulthood, Krishna had a habit of being playful when dealing with human life and evil. When the demoness Putana attempted to nurse poison into the baby Krishna, squeezed her breasts until she died. Krishna’s most iconic feats included him dancing on the serpent Kaliya in river Yamuna and effortlessly lifting the Govardhan mountain in order to challenge and humble the rage of Lord Indra. Krishna’s own birth and the chain of events leading to his life started with a divine intervention telling Kamsa that one of his sister’s (Krishna’s mother Devaki) children will be the reason behind his death. Krishna’s mischievous nature in the era of corruption that was the Dvapara Yuga was almost a foil to his previous avatar. While Rama’s story was that molded by human mistake followed by divine intervention, Krishna’s story was that molded by an initial divine intervention and then revolved around human error and mistakes. Krishna was a polyamorous god incaranate, having eight principal wives and 16000 other junior wives, while Rama was the ideal man and courted only one woman that he engaged with in a monogamyous relationship with. While Rama had been a focused and matter-of-fact warrior when dealing with adversity in adulthood or even in his adolescence, Krishna had always played around and his decisions had consequences ranging from unintentional like his bout with King Jarasandha as a result of Kamsa’s death or as grave as the massacre of an entire 3 generations of warriors in the aftermath Mahabharata. While Krishna was able to achieve great feats and challenge great foes, Krishna’s power as an all-knowing being controlling humankind’s direction throughout this era of corruption eventually led to his own demise/earthly fulfillment at the hands of Gandhari’s curse.
With their respective portrayals and personalities, both Rama and Krishna lead great wars of their era, with Rama physically fighting and with Krishna acting a spiritual guide. Their leadership in these great wars of Hindu mythos and of their respective yugas are very revealing on their roles and perspectives in Dharma.
Rama lived his entire life according to Dharma's rules. His stepmother, on the other hand, desired to see her son Bharata, Rama's younger brother, ascend to the throne. Recalling the king's pledge to give her any two desires she chose, she requested Rama's banishment and Bharata's crowning. The monarch was bound by his pledge to his wife and hence ordered Rama's exile. Rama welcomed the decree without reservation. When Sita learned that Rama was about to be banished, she pleaded with him to accompany him, claiming that it is her Dharma as a wife to be at her husband's side. Later when Ravana abducted Sita, prompting Rama to gather the aid of a Varana army, construct a causeway across to Lanka, free Sita, and safely return her to Ayodhya, where he demanded that Sita prove her purity before he could take her back as his wife, in accordance with Dharmic practices.
Rama was accepting and graceful towards Ravana’s brother Vibhishana when he left Sri Lanka in disagreement with Ravana’s methods. Vibhishana was warmly accepted as a general counsel to Rama’s war strategy. Rama’s considerate relationship with Vibhishana was especially present when Rama listened to Vibhishana’s pleas to spare Ravana for the errors of his ways. In a battle where Ravana was noticeably fatigued, Rama spared his life and told him to prepare for his true penance in their next battle. Rama’s continual peace negotiation with Ravana, first with Hanuman, then with Angada, and finally by sparing him showed tremendous generosity towards the Demon King’s errors. It was only until Lakshmana was severely injured did Rama finally abandon any chances of sparing Ravana. Rama’s tears at his own brother’s injuries depict his empathy and later fuel his renewed vigor in attempting to finish the war. As per Rama’s divine fate, he would later kill Ravana and eventually befriend and immortalize many of the Vanaras that had fought for him. Rama’s leadership was that of diligence amongst his members and ensuring that he minimized casualties where he could, while fighting valiantly and righteously where he could and avenging those who fell close to him.
Krishna was depicted as a playful human with omnipotence and many of those traits dragged into his treatment and perspectives of Dharma in the Mahabharata. While Krishna relayed his utmost spiritual role as a guide in the Mahabharata and did not lift a weapon throughout the battle, his tactics to allow the Pandavas to win the war were not those of fairness and justice associated with Dharmic practices.
Arjuna was confronted with a dilemma in the Bhagavad-Gita at the beginning of the battle. As he contemplated the impending conflict, he thought that it would have dire consequences—death, destruction, social collapse, and ultimately, hell for everyone involved. Arjuna was a Kshatriya, and hence his Dharma involves the obligation to fight. There appears to be a decision between consequentialism and deontology: “on the one hand, Arjuna can avoid negative consequences by refraining from fighting; on the other hand, he can fulfill his obligation and fight regardless of the consequences”. In answer to Arjuna's predicament, Krishna encouraged Arjuna to battle ferociously. The Pandavas continuously pursued victory through adharmic tactics throughout the conflict. Krishna was frequently held accountable for the Pandavas' decisions to breach Dharma.
Though Krishna attempted to persuade the Kauravas to avoid war altogether in a compromise, he embodied and adopted a “whatever means necessary” guidance towards the war. In order to kill Drona, who now fought on the side of the Kauravas, Krishna forced Yudhisthira to say that an elephant by the same name of Drona’s son had died in battle. Yudhisthira was a man known for his ability to not tell a lie and when trying to specify that an elephant, Krishna blew his conch so as to let the lie prevail. This allowed Arjuna to get an otherwise unobtainable opening to eventually slay Drona. Other examples of Krishna’s adharmic methods include Arjuna killing Karna while his chariot was stuck in the mud. Bhisma’s death at the hands of someone who was a woman in their past life, and Bhima’s final slaying of Duryodhana with an illegal hit, a move which enraged his own brother Balarama and even the gods.
There exists a contrast with Krishna’s use of divine intervention especially when regarding the death of children in the war, the first being the unjust killing and eventual avenging of Abhimanyu, Arjuna’s son. Krishna’s role in Abhimanyu’s death is that while Abhimanyu was being told in the womb on how to break the eventual army formation that would kill him years later, Krishna had interrupted Arjuna. As per the many interpretations that adopt this story, therefore, Abhimanyu only knew how to enter the formation but never leave it. Knowing that Krishna is an omnipotent being, it can be assumed that he was aware of Abhimanyu’s death and perhaps used his death as a main driving factor to get Arjuna to follow his perspective of Dharma. After Abhimanyu’s death, Arjuna swore to kill his son’s killer Jaydratha by sunset or else jump into a fire and commit suicide. Krishna purposely used his Sudarshan Chakra to make it seem like the sun had to fool Jayadratha, who eventually fell into the trap and was eventually beheaded by Arjuna’s arrow. In contrast to this divine intervention, Krishna purposely goaded Karna to use his divine weapon from Indra to slay Pandava Bhima’s son Ghathotkacha. Krishna justified Ghathotkacha death as a usage of Karna’s celestial weapon reserved for Arjuna. Therefore, Arjuna was safe but alas Ghathotkacha had passed away as a noble sacrifice.
As a result of Duryodhana’s death at the hands of Bhima and the illegal hit advised by Krishna, the last Kaurava survivors executed a fire raid at night that killed the entirety of the Pandava army, killing all their children, kings, friends, and allies. The victory of the Mahabharatha was Pyrrhic in nature. The Pandavas had won their kingdom at a cost that Krishna had known going into the battle yet still encouraged. Gandhari, the mother of the Kauravas, cursed Krishna for his actions and foreknowledge of events. That curse was believed to have been the means behind the death of the Yadavas and Krishna’s eventual death or rather departure from the mortal plane at the hands of a stray arrow from a hunter.
“The value of an act depends not only on one’s motives wholly, but also upon dehsha and kala, the given place and the given time (cycle of time). The same act is Dharma or aDharma for different people, depending on time, place and person concerned.”
In regards to their perspectives on Dharma and how they represent the era in which the protect, Rama’s represents the purity of Dharma in Treta Yuga and Krishna’s represents the harshness required to combat the growing age of corruption of Dvapara and ushering the start of Kali Yuga. Due to the time these two avatars were brought up in, they were emblematic of their surroundings and adopted perspectives that combated the necessary evils and trials that fell upon them.
Rama's banishment epitomizes his nearly pure view of Dharma. According to Rama, obeying one's parents was far preferable to even ritual and holy offerings to gods and goddesses. Rama's teachings on Dharma, the importance of parental obedience, the importance of adhering to the law of the land, and the imperativeness of performing one's duty are all emphasized in his advice to Bharatha regarding why Rama must carry out his action and why Bharatha should also do the same and seize the throne of Ayodhya. Rama never broke dharmic ideals, even though Dasaratha wrenched away Rama's right to govern the land and also exiled him to the jungle. He not only preached but also practiced Dharma with his Vanaras and family. As per Rama, an individual who had broken Shiva’s bow and accomplished tasks that no ordinary mortal could accomplish, even if gods permitted him to do a certain action, he would follow his parents’ orders as a first priority in respect to his beliefs of lineage, tradition, and familial ties.
The Bhagavad Gita is the source of the idea of Dharma in Hinduism and is the main source of Krishna’s perspective on Dharma as he relays in his conversation with Arjuna Krishna is a much more of a firm believer in the eternal nature of the soul. Krishna, unlike Rama, would focus on the divine duty of a human’s conscience and righteousness as their way of life and to permit that way of life by any means necessary. Arjuna argues for nonviolence in the name of Dharma by presuming that attacking and killing so many powerful men, virtually all of whom are fathers and spouses, will destabilize the crucial families and communities for which these men are accountable. Arjuna continues by arguing that Dharma protects when it is safeguarded but harms when it is harmed. Arjuna would be assassinating monarchs on the battlefield, nearly all of them upheld at the very least the fundamental precepts of Dharma in terms of ethics, social order, and conventional, worldly religious practices. Arjuna is informed by Lord Krishna that even Dharma requires for the war to occur. Lord Krishna dismisses Arjuna's argument as mere powerlessness and immaturity and encourages Arjuna to fight. Krishna’s Dharmic perspective is that which was necessary to combat the corrupt periods of Dvapara and later Kali Yuga.
While Rama grew up and was in a role of nobility and faith with loyalty to familial ties (even to a woman who was his stepmother and not his birth mother), Krishna’s own life was incepted because his own uncle betrayed his mother and killed his siblings. Lord Krishna’s Dharma was relatively independent of familial loyalties and focused on fighting for a righteous goal because he recognized how corrupt families can become after being stemmed from jealousy. Even the Mahabharata was the result of familial jealousy and the conniving natures of Duryodhana and Shakuni, respectively. Despite coming from the same divine entity of Vishnu, Rama and Krishna’s biggest challenges in the battle to upkeep Dharma were mankind’s inherent flaws. Lord Rama’s and Lord Krishna’s portrayals, leadership styles, and perspectives on the principle of Dharma defined and solidified their roles as representative avatars of their eras.