A real leader is one who leads from the front. He does not hesitate to take on the opposition; in war, he is at the head of the army, inspiring his soldiers and urging them to put the enemy to flight. Lord Rama was one such leader, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse. The Lord is seen as the One who protects us. A protector has to be at the forefront, guarding those who have put their trust in him. And whether it is in the Rama avatar or Krishna avatara, we observe this trait of the Lord.

Lord Rama heads His troops, whereas Ravana sends all the others out to fight, and only when none is left does he venture to face Rama. Ravana comes to the battlefield in his chariot, but Rama is on the ground. Sage Narada urges Indra to lend his chariot to Rama. Rama tells Indra’s charioteer to drive forward to meet Ravana. Indra himself usually sought the Lord’s help when he found himself in trouble. So perhaps being asked to drive forward was a new experience for Indra’s charioteer.

In the Kurukshetra war, Lord Krishna is Arjuna’s charioteer and Arjuna tells Him to drive the chariot and place it between the two armies so that he (Arjuna) can see his opponents.

Tirumangai Azhvar, in one of his verses about Lord Parthasarathy of Triplicane, extols Krishna who was in front of Arjuna steering the chariot. But why does Tirumangai Azhvar say that Lord Krishna stood on the chariot? Which charioteer stands on the chariot?

There was a reason for Tirumangai Azhvar’s choice of words. Lord Krishna stood up in the chariot to save Arjuna from the arrows that came towards him. The processional idol in the Triplicane temple has marks that indicate the scars from the arrow wounds of Lord Krishna.

The Lord, by standing up, saved Arjuna’s life.