What seems a good thing in Ram’s yuga becomes a bad thing in Krishna’s yuga. Ram’s unquestioning obedience of his father transforms him into God. But Puru’s unquestioning obedience results in the collapse of society. Dashratha requests Ram’s obedience so that he can uphold his word. Yayati, however, demands the obedience of his children for his own pleasure. Yayati exploits the rule for his own benefit whereas Dashratha enforces the rule so that royal integrity is never questioned. The rule (obey the father) evokes dharma in Dashratha’s case, but not so in Yayati’s.
