The biggest strength of the Pandavas, was the presence of Lord Krishna on their side. With the Lord on their side, none could defeat them. But why was the Lord on their side? How could He be partial to one set of people? These are questions we may be tempted to ask. The Lord is impartial. He stands always on the side of dharma. He is with the righteous. He does not discriminate against anyone. In all His acts of punishing someone or rewarding someone, He is guided by only one principle- that He should always remain on the side of what is right, said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse.
And so it was that as Narasimha, He killed one asura — Hiranyakasipu, while at the same moment saving another asura, namely Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakasipu. As Rama, He killed the demon Ravana, while saving his brother, also a demon, namely Vibhishana. He killed the elephant Kuvalayapida, but saved the elephant Gajendra. He killed Vali, but saved his brother Sugreeva. He favoured Yudishtra, but was opposed to Yudishtra’s cousin Sisupala. Both Sisupala and Yudishtra were sons of two of his aunts, but he favoured one and was opposed to the other. Thus the only thing that determines on whose side the Lord remains, is the goodness or otherwise of a person.
Even in the case of Sisupala, the Lord was inclined to be kind and patient with him, because, while Sisupala disliked Krishna, Sisupala liked Yudishtra. That was why Lord Krishna promised that He would forgive Sisupala a hundred times, and only if Sisupala went beyond abusing Him a hundred times, would He punish him. So He is not only with the righteous, but is also prepared to pardon those who are well disposed towards the righteous.
