The Three Great Epics of India
In our religion, there are many Dharmik works. We have the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas, the Itihasas and so on. Besides, the great sayings of the Mahapurushas are also there. Among all these epics, three major ones are very important, namely the Ramayana, the Bhagavata and the Mahabharata.
In the Ramayana we get the story of Rama, in the Bhagavata, the story of Krishna and in the Mahabharata the story of Dharmaputra. In the Mahabharata we also get the story about the evolution of the world and its living beings. Of course, the story of Krishna is the best therein.
There is a certain similarity between these works. Shri Ramachandra was an avatar of Narayana. Shri Krishna was a sarupa of Bhagavan, and Dharmaputra was an avatarapurusha who was a Devatama, Rama in carnated for killing Ravana, Krishna for killing Kamsa and Dharmaputra for killing Duryodhana and his company.
The object of these avatars was to destroy the evil forces, increase the good forces and promote the holy company. Whenever there are avatars, and whenever great saints are born in this world, two things happen simultaneously, namely (i) the destruction of the evil forces, and (ii) the prospering of the good forces. The moment a lamp is lit, it serves two purposes; not only does light come, but darkness is dispelled simultaneously. In the same way, as a result of the incarnation of God, not only the holy company prospers but at the same time the evil forces are also destroyed.
The similarity between these three great Epic works is that all of them depict the story of the destruction of evil forces. In the Ramayana we find destruction of Ravana. In the beginning we find that the power of Ravana or Kamsa was going on increasing, but ultimately they met their doom, in the same way. Adharma increases in the beginning, and Dhamra declines, but ultimately we find that Adharma gets destroyed and Dharma prospers. Both things take place simultaneously, just as when a light is lit, darkness goes away and light also shines, both processes taking place simultaneously.
A study of these great epics is productive of immense good. The great Avatars have demonstrated to us, by living amidst us what Dharmas to follows and how to practice Dharma. So, let us all get inspiration from these great epics and start practicing our Swadharma and emulate the example shown by these great Avatars.