Of the many avataras of Lord Narayana, Rama and Krishna avataras are considered complete avataras. What is so special about them? In the case of other avataras, the Lord came for a certain purpose, stayed on the earth briefly, and left the moment the mission was accomplished. But not so in the case of Rama and Krishna avataras, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse.
Thirumangai Azhvar lists the Lord’s avataras in one of his verses, where he refers to Parasurama as ‘Rama,’ and to Balarama again as ‘Rama.’ But the Rama avatara which is placed between these two, is not referred to as the Rama avatara! Instead, Thirumangai Azhvar uses the word ‘thaanaai,’ meaning He Himself. This indicates the importance of the Rama avatara. Valmiki says Rama lived on the earth for 11,000 years. Krishna lived for more than a hundred years.
But why did the Lord come to this earth in the first place? In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord answers this question. He says it is to protect virtuous people, to destroy the wicked and to establish dharma. But just one action could have accomplished the other two goals. If the wicked, who harmed the good, were killed, then automatically dharma and good people would be protected. The Lord is avApta samasta kAman — there is nothing for Him to experience; nor is there anything that He has not experienced. So why did He come to earth? And if dharma has to be protected, He just has to will the death of the wicked and it will automatically happen, and the rest will follow. Kooratazhvan asks Varadaraja of Kanchi these questions in his Varadaraja Stava. The answer is also there in Kooratazhvan’s verse. He says during His avataras, the Lord is in the company of those who have a humble status. His avataras, thus, show His saulabhya.
