r/hinduism • u/kingNile21 • Jul 18 '26
Hindū Scripture(s) Who exactly is Rama? Who exactly is Krishna?
Who exactly is Rama? Who exactly is Krishna?
The more I study our scriptures, the harder it becomes for me to describe Sri Rama or Sri Krishna as "just an avatar."
Please read this with an open heart.
This post is not meant to create bheda-buddhi. I do not believe Rama, Krishna, Narayana, Vishnu, Hari or any form of Bhagavan are different.
They are one Supreme Reality.
But I believe the scriptures reveal something even deeper.
Not merely that Rama and Krishna are avatars of Narayana, but that They are the eternal, complete manifestation of Parabrahman Himself - the very source from whom Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva receive their divine powers.
One verse from Ramcharitmanas completely changed how I looked at this subject:
«जगु पेखन तुम्ह देखनिहारे।
विधि हरि संभु नचावनिहारे॥
तेउ न जानहिं मरमु तुम्हारा।
और तुम्हहि को जाननिहारा॥»
"You are the Seer of the entire universe. Even Brahma (Vidhi), Hari (Vishnu) and Shambhu (Shiva) move according to Your will. Even they do not fully know Your mystery. Then who else can truly know You?"
If even Brahma, Hari and Shambhu cannot fully understand Him... who is this Lord?
Then comes one of my favorite episodes in
Ramcharitmanas.
Svayambhuva Manu and Shatarupa performed severe tapas for thousands of years.
Brahma came and offered them a boon.
They remained silent.Vishnu came.
Still they remained silent.
Shiva came.
Again they remained silent.
Why?
Because they were not doing tapas for Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva.
They were waiting for the Supreme Lord Himself.
Finally, the Divine Voice spoke:
«हरि व्यापक सर्वत्र समाना।
प्रेम ते प्रगट होहिं मैं जाना॥»
"Hari is present everywhere equally, but He reveals Himself only through love."
Not through arguments.
Not through pride.
Not through scholarship alone.
Through love.
When Manu and Shatarupa prayed, "O Lord, please show us Your eternal form," He appeared before them.
And what was that eternal form?
«नील सरोरुह नीलमणि नील नीरधर श्याम।
लजहि तन सोभा निरखि कोटि कोटि सत काम॥»
Dark like the blue lotus, the sapphire and the rain-filled cloud. So beautiful that millions of Cupids would feel ashamed before His beauty.
This wasn't described as a temporary form assumed for an incarnation.
This was His eternal form.
The same beautiful Shyamasundara whom devotees know as Rama and Krishna.
Then I came across another prayer of Goswami Tulsidas Ji in Vinaya Patrika:
«विधिहि विधिता शिवहि शिवता हरिहि हरिता जिन दीये॥»
"He is the One who bestowed Brahma his power to create, Shiva his power of auspiciousness and Hari His sustaining power."
To me, this is incredible.
It points toward One Supreme Reality from whom even the powers of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva arise.
And that Supreme is never separated from His eternal Shakti.
As Krishna is eternally with Sri Radha,
Rama is eternally with Sri Sita.
Shaktiman and Shakti are eternally one.
Then Srimad Bhagavatam says:
«एते चांशकलाः पुंसः
कृष्णस्तु भगवान् स्वयम्॥
(Bhagavatam 1.3.28)»
"All these are portions or portions of portions, but Krishna is Bhagavan Himself."
Brahma Samhita declares:
«ईश्वरः परमः कृष्णः
सच्चिदानन्दविग्रहः।
अनादिरादिर्गोविन्दः
सर्वकारणकारणम्॥
(Brahma Samhita 5.1)»
"Krishna is the Supreme Lord, the cause of all causes."
Another beautiful statement traditionally attributed to Sukha Ramayana says:
«तस्यापि भगवान् एष साक्षाद् ब्रह्ममयो हरिः।»
The word साक्षात् (sakshat) means "directly" or "in person."
Many devotees understand this to indicate that the Lord being described is the direct, eternal and complete manifestation of Parabrahman.
This is simply how I understand these scriptures.
I am not asking anyone to abandon Narayana for Rama.
Or Rama for Krishna.
Or Krishna for Narayana.
To me, They are one.
But I believe the sweetest, original and eternal revelation of that Supreme Reality is the beautiful form of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna.
Whether you agree or disagree, one line from
Tulsidas Ji contains the entire essence of bhakti:
«हरि व्यापक सर्वत्र समाना।
प्रेम ते प्रगट होहिं मैं जाना॥»
The Lord is already everywhere.
The only thing that makes Him appear in our lives is love.
Maybe the greatest question isn't, "Who exactly is Rama?"
Maybe the real question is...
How much do I love Him?
Jaya Sri Sita-Rama.
Jaya Sri Radha-Krishna.
May They bless all of us with pure bhakti.
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u/NoCut1784 Jul 18 '26
A beautiful expression of bhakti, and I genuinely appreciate your devotion to Shri Ram and Shri Krishna.
From a Traitvadi/Vedic perspective, however, I arrive at a slightly different conclusion.
The earliest Vedic and Itihasa sources present Paramatma, Jivatma, and Prakriti as eternally distinct realities. Shri Ram and Shri Krishna are revered as the highest examples of perfectly realized, dharmic human beings so complete in knowledge, conduct, and self-mastery that they become worthy of worship and are often spoken of as being one with the Divine in qualities and purpose. That, however, is different from saying they literally are the infinite Paramatma.
Even in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna repeatedly points beyond himself to the eternal, all-pervading Supreme Reality. Likewise, Valmiki's Ramayana primarily celebrates Rama as Maryada Purushottama, the ideal human who demonstrates perfect Dharma under the most difficult circumstances.
The explicit identification of Rama and Krishna as the Supreme Being became much more pronounced in later Bhakti literature and Puranic traditions. Works such as the Ramcharitmanas are magnificent devotional reinterpretations that have inspired millions spiritually, but they represent a later theological development rather than the sole reading of the earliest scriptures.
Fortunately, Sanatana Dharma has always accommodated both approaches. One may worship Ram or Krishna as Bhagavan through Bhakti, while another may revere them as the highest realized beings and perfect embodiments of Dharma through a Vedic/Traitvadi lens. Both cultivate virtue, devotion, and spiritual growth without diminishing the greatness of Shri Ram or Shri Krishna.
क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत।
Know Me as the Knower in all bodies.This is interpreted by many Vedic scholars as Krishna speaking as the representative of the Supreme Consciousness, not merely as an individual historical body.
आत्मानं मनुषं मन्ये रामं दशरथात्मजम्। - Ayudhya kand, Valmiki Ramayana."I consider myself a human, Rama, son of Dasharatha".
These references are all from the foundational corpus (Veda, Gita, Valmiki Ramayana, Mahabharata). Note, however, that interpretations differ across Hindu traditions. Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita, Gaudiya, Sri Vaishnava, and Arya Samaj/Traitvadi scholars read several of these passages differently, so the debate is primarily one of interpretation rather than textual existence.
Jai Shri Ram 🙏 Jai Shri Krishna 🙏
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u/kingNile21 Jul 25 '26
Ur opinion is completely true 💯 and I respect it . That's the beauty of sanatan we all have different view's yet everything and every opinion feels true. ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् । Also wanted to add some points Even in valmiki Ramayana he is stated as supreme lord by himself during vivhisan sarnagati when sugriv felt insulted then ram stated अङ्गुल्यग्रेण तान् हन्यामिच्छन् हरीगणेश्वर Menaing oo sugriv only by my tip of my finger if I wish then all the devil will get destroyed I need no one to win this war. Here ram ji is himself telling he is not a random maryada purustom human but supreme reality himself. Anyways I respect Ur opinion too ya in nar Leela avatar he don't accept that he is god . Shree radhe Shyam and sorry for late reply.
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u/inDilema Jul 18 '26
Krishna - Had his favourites and was very bias
Ram - Most innocent, pure, non - bias
Two energies side of same the coin
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u/kingNile21 Jul 25 '26
Our ram ji was bias too but for his bhkats just like our thakur ji(Krishn) both of them favoured dharma and his bhkats. Ram ji favoured vivhisan over ravan , sugriv over Bali and so on and I don't think I need to tell of Krishna because he is chatursitomani activities like this 😜😆. Only difference I can notice is राम कृष्ण दोऊ एक हैं, अंतर कछू न देख। याके नैन गंभीर हैं, वाके चपल विसेष Shree radhe
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u/whatchumean9 Jul 20 '26
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam…
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ…
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u/[deleted] Jul 18 '26
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