Krishna’s Dharma Wasn’t to Be Fair — It Was to Be Right
Nidhi | May 31, 2025, 17:19 IST
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau, Timeslife )
Krishna’s teachings in the Bhagavad Gita challenge us to rethink what it really means to do the “right thing.” This article explores how Krishna’s concept of Dharma goes beyond simple fairness—because sometimes, fairness isn’t enough. Instead, Krishna urges us to focus on what’s just and true, even if it feels uncomfortable or misunderstood. Through this, we learn how to navigate life’s toughest decisions with courage and clarity, inspired by the timeless wisdom of the Gita.
"If you judge Krishna by modern ethics, you'll call him a trickster. But if you judge him by cosmic duty, you'll call him the world's last hope."
Fairness is a virtue admired by democracies and idealists. It speaks of equality, symmetry, and justice that looks the same from every angle. But dharma, as Krishna reveals in the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita, is not fairness. Dharma is not symmetrical. It is contextual, dynamic, and deeply moral — even when it looks unjust.
Krishna's actions often seem controversial: He advised Arjuna to kill Karna when he was unarmed, told Yudhishthira to lie, and orchestrated the death of Bhishma and Drona through strategic illusion. These acts defy our notion of "fair play." But Krishna wasn’t here to be fair. He was here to restore the balance of the world, to uphold dharma, even if it meant breaking the rules made by men.
Let us unravel this paradox with deeper philosophical clarity. 
Fairness treats all as equals in all situations. It assumes uniformity. But dharma is layered — it considers time, place, intention, and consequence. It does not hold the same expectation for a child, a king, or a teacher.
Dharma adapts without losing integrity. It recognizes that a just outcome sometimes demands different paths for different souls. Krishna operated from this multi-dimensional vision. He saw what was hidden, not just what was visible. 
In a fairness-based world, we judge right and wrong by results. But dharma begins with inner intent. Was the act done from ego or from clarity? From desire or from surrender?
Krishna’s intent was never personal gain. It was cosmic restoration. His actions were sharp, but his motives were pure. Dharma holds this deeper law: a truthful action with selfish intent is worse than an unfair act with selfless purpose.Laws are written to ensure fairness, but they can become rigid, outdated, or even harmful in changing contexts. Krishna did not serve written law — he served unwritten wisdom. He challenged rituals when they became hollow and broke rules when they blocked the truth.
Where law is blind, dharma is awake. It asks: Does this serve harmony? Does this reduce suffering? Krishna's choices were not legalistic; they were luminous. 
Fairness comforts the ego. Dharma awakens the soul. When Arjuna wanted to retreat from the battlefield out of compassion, Krishna reminded him: "This is not compassion. It is confusion." (Gita 2.7)
Dharma doesn't let you hide behind good intentions. It calls you to rise, to act with clarity even when the heart trembles. Krishna’s words didn’t soothe — they shattered illusions to rebuild Arjuna as a warrior of truth.Fairness aims to be agreeable. Dharma dares to stand alone. Krishna was criticized, doubted, and resisted. But he didn’t seek consensus. He walked the path of clarity, even if no one followed.
True dharma is not swayed by applause. It doesn’t need public validation. It only needs one thing: inner alignment with cosmic purpose. 
Fairness focuses on visible justice — what seems right to the crowd. Dharma is rooted in the unseen balance of the soul and the world.
Krishna allowed outcomes that seemed tragic — like the killing of Abhimanyu or the exile of the Pandavas. Yet he saw further, knowing these were turns in a larger design that the eye could not yet see. Dharma requires trust in the unseen, not just comfort in the seen.
Fairness wants instant justice. But dharma is eternal. It stretches beyond the moment, beyond a single life, beyond a single event.
Krishna never acted for short-term success. He moved like time itself, sometimes slow, sometimes sudden — but always with foresight. Dharma doesn't settle for appearances. It calculates the karmic architecture of the future.In a time of collapsing ethics, Krishna did not present himself as a rule-following god. He appeared as a strategist, a poet of destiny, a mystic who spoke the language of both war and peace.
He taught us that truth is not symmetrical. Justice is not always pleasant. And the righteous path may sometimes wear the disguise of contradiction.
So if you find yourself misunderstood while doing what is deeply right, take heart. Even Krishna — the avatar of Vishnu — was judged, doubted, and seen as unfair. But he did not stop. He did not explain. He simply acted.
Because he knew: Fairness can be faked. Dharma cannot.
And in the end, it is not how many agree with you that matters. It is how aligned you are with the eternal.
As Krishna says in the Gita:
"Whenever there is a decline in righteousness and a rise in unrighteousness, I manifest Myself." (Gita 4.7)
He did not come to please. He came to restore. So must we.
Fairness is a virtue admired by democracies and idealists. It speaks of equality, symmetry, and justice that looks the same from every angle. But dharma, as Krishna reveals in the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita, is not fairness. Dharma is not symmetrical. It is contextual, dynamic, and deeply moral — even when it looks unjust.
Krishna's actions often seem controversial: He advised Arjuna to kill Karna when he was unarmed, told Yudhishthira to lie, and orchestrated the death of Bhishma and Drona through strategic illusion. These acts defy our notion of "fair play." But Krishna wasn’t here to be fair. He was here to restore the balance of the world, to uphold dharma, even if it meant breaking the rules made by men.
Let us unravel this paradox with deeper philosophical clarity.
1. Fairness is Flat. Dharma is Multi-Dimensional.
UNO reverse.
( Image credit : Pexels )
Dharma adapts without losing integrity. It recognizes that a just outcome sometimes demands different paths for different souls. Krishna operated from this multi-dimensional vision. He saw what was hidden, not just what was visible.
2. Fairness is Measured by Outcome. Dharma Begins with Intention.
No Toxicity
Krishna’s intent was never personal gain. It was cosmic restoration. His actions were sharp, but his motives were pure. Dharma holds this deeper law: a truthful action with selfish intent is worse than an unfair act with selfless purpose.
3. Fairness Clings to Law. Dharma Flows from Wisdom.
Where law is blind, dharma is awake. It asks: Does this serve harmony? Does this reduce suffering? Krishna's choices were not legalistic; they were luminous.
4. Fairness is Comfortable. Dharma is Transformative.
Observe.
( Image credit : Pexels )
Dharma doesn't let you hide behind good intentions. It calls you to rise, to act with clarity even when the heart trembles. Krishna’s words didn’t soothe — they shattered illusions to rebuild Arjuna as a warrior of truth.
5. Fairness Seeks Agreement. Dharma Demands Courage.
True dharma is not swayed by applause. It doesn’t need public validation. It only needs one thing: inner alignment with cosmic purpose.
6. Fairness Is External. Dharma Is Internal.
Life.
( Image credit : Pexels )
Krishna allowed outcomes that seemed tragic — like the killing of Abhimanyu or the exile of the Pandavas. Yet he saw further, knowing these were turns in a larger design that the eye could not yet see. Dharma requires trust in the unseen, not just comfort in the seen.
7. Fairness Ends at Action. Dharma Sees Through Time.
Krishna never acted for short-term success. He moved like time itself, sometimes slow, sometimes sudden — but always with foresight. Dharma doesn't settle for appearances. It calculates the karmic architecture of the future.
Krishna Didn’t Come to Play Fair. He Came to Restore the World.
He taught us that truth is not symmetrical. Justice is not always pleasant. And the righteous path may sometimes wear the disguise of contradiction.
So if you find yourself misunderstood while doing what is deeply right, take heart. Even Krishna — the avatar of Vishnu — was judged, doubted, and seen as unfair. But he did not stop. He did not explain. He simply acted.
Because he knew: Fairness can be faked. Dharma cannot.
And in the end, it is not how many agree with you that matters. It is how aligned you are with the eternal.
As Krishna says in the Gita:
"Whenever there is a decline in righteousness and a rise in unrighteousness, I manifest Myself." (Gita 4.7)
He did not come to please. He came to restore. So must we.