Originally posted by: blue-ice
Mr. K what are ur reasons for preferring Krishna over Rama ......I do the same thats why I am curious to know........
I don't judge the character of Rama because he came on this earth as a human and therefore had the imperfections of a human.......for instance when he asks Sitaji to give agni pareeksha......and when he leaves the pregnant Seeta to fend on her own just because a dhobi said something........I am simply not able to digest those two things but then its a normal part of being a human....
In Valmiki Ramayana, Ramji never asked Sitaji to give an Agni Pareeksha. He knew beforehand that when he returned to Ayodhya, the praja would ask him to be made King and therefore Sitaji would be queen. He did not want Sitaji's purity to be questioned by the public since she had lived in Ravan's kingdom for ten months as a prisoner, so he told Sitaji that he had fought Ravan to free her and establish Dharma and that she was free to do what she pleased because she was not bound to him any longer. Sitaji, wanting to establish her chastity to everyone, invoked Agnidev herself and came out of the fire untouched, thereby proving her purity and establishing herself as queen in everyone's hearts. Ramji never told her directly to go into the fire, as BRC showed in his Vishnu Puran and Ramayan. It was Sitaji's own decision. So in fact, the Agni Pareeksha was not a Pareeksha, but an Agni Pravesha. You can refer to Valmiki Ramayan for proof.
In Ramcharitmanas, the story is slightly different. Before Ravan came to kidnap Sitaji, Ramji knew beforehand that Mareech would come in the form of a golden deer. He also knew that for Ravan to touch Sitaji, she being a Mahasati, would be impossible for him because Ravan's hands would burn to ashes if he dared do such a thing. So he (Ramji) invoked Agnidev and entrusted the real Sita to him, asking him to safeguard her as a father would. In the real Sita's place remained a Chhaya Sita (Sitaji's shadow form) whose purpose was to be kidnapped by Ravan and therefore give Ramji and opportunity to declare war on Lanka. After Ravan was killed, the Chhaya Sita was brought before Ramji and Ramji asked her to give an Agni Pareeksha. Everyone thought it was because he wanted to establish her purity but it was really because he wanted to reclaim the real Sita, his beloved wife. When the Chhaya Sita submerged herself in fire, Agnidev brought with him the real Sita and entrusted her to Ramji once again.
No matter which version you take, it stands that Ramji did not do anything wrong.
Scriptures say, 'Yatha Raja Tatha Praja', which means that whatever the King does, so do the praja (people) do. Ramji never doubted Sitaji's word for even a moment, but he was forced to leave her because of his duty as a King.
Also, there is one story many people forget when associated with Sitaji's exile. Ramji did not exile her by the words of the Dhobi alone. The Dhobi was merely an instrument in bring about Sitaji's exile. What happened was that Ramji's minister Bhadra one day came to him and told him that a Dhobi had kicked his wife out of his house because she had spent the night at another man's house due to helpless situation. Ramji was greatly disturbed by this because the woman was not at fault and yet had to suffer such a situation. He donned villager's clothing and went around his kingdom to hear the people's opinion about this issue. Though some people felt sorry for the woman, the majority of Ayodhya's praja supported the husband. Eventually the talk turned to Ramji's rule and people commented about how they should expect more such behavior from women in the future because their own Queen Sita was of such conduct. 'Ramji, loving his wife so much, not only brought her back to Ayodhya and also made her queen. What kind of justice can we expect from such a King, infatuated with a woman as he is?' Ramji heard this kind of talk not only in one place, but many cities and many villages.
He had to take the decision to exile Sitaji because the majority of his kingdom were against her and he feared that the women in the kingdom might mistake Sitaji's conduct and use her as an example to behave badly while the men would never come to him, the king, for justice because they resented his decision to keep Sitaji as his wife. So it was not by the one word of the Dhobi (like so many movies wrongly show) that Ramji suddenly 'doubted' Sitaji and exiled her, but because as a King it was his duty to take a decision which would benefit his kingdom and regain the trust of his praja. Ramji and Sitaji suffered equally during their separation. Many overlook Ramji's love for Sitaji and think he acted out of selfish reason, but that is so wrong. Valmiki Ramayan and Ramcharitmanas describe the pain of both Ramji and Sitaji in depth. Neither was wrong and both were victims in this situation. Also, Ramji fulfilled his duty as a husband in asking Lakshmanji to leave Sitaji near Valmiki's ashram. He did not completely abandon Sitaji. He ensured that she was left near the ashram of a kind sage who would take her in and rear his future kids as worthy heirs to his family. He made sure that Valmikiji took in Sitaji, and the entire 12 years thereafter they were separated, he watched over Sitaji and made sure that she lacked in nothing. He knew even before Luv kush came to Ayodhya that they were his sons and that Sitaji was their mother. He did not get rid of her like the praja wanted, but merely kept her away from the palace where he could still watch over her though never able to meet her.
Ramji is called Maryada Purushotham because he acted accordingly as the situation required. Though he was born a human and proclaimed himself as human, he acted like a God in his actions, while Krishnaji, despite proclaiming himself as God to everyone ever since he was a baby , he acted like a human. Both Ramji and Krishnaji are the same, though they may seem different because of their different personalities. For Treta Yug, Ramji's character was appropriate because the entire yugam was not completely evil and a peaceful approach to issues was necessary if not valued, while in Dwapar Yug, people became more selfish and self-centered that Krishnaji's 'tit for tat' personality was needed and valued. If Krishnaji had been calm and peaceful like Ramji in Dwapar Yug, defeating the Kauravas would not have been possible. Both Lord Krishna and Lord Rama's message was the same only. They basically told us to act according to situation. Be peaceful when you need to be, but do not hesitate in showing your power when the need arises. That is why I love both incarnations equally and can read Ramayan and Bhagawad Purana many times without liking one over the other.
Now, I'll stop this rant before I can say any more and give a chance for all of you to get a word in edgewise.😆
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