Why Krishna Smiled in Pain, War, and Loss, And What It Means for Us

Most people smile when things go right. Krishna smiled when everything went wrong. He smiled when his efforts failed. He smiled when dharma had to be defended through violence. He smiled when his own people turned against each other. He smiled when he was cursed by the mother of dead sons. He smiled, even as he walked alone into the forest to leave his body, with no one to mourn him. But Krishna’s smile was not hollow. It wasn’t forced. And it wasn’t because he didn’t feel pain. It was because he saw something deeper than pain.

In the Mahabharata, even in the blood-soaked fields of Kurukshetra, Krishna’s face held a peculiar serenity. Sanjaya, the divine seer, when narrating the war to Dhritarashtra, often describes Krishna not as a warrior but as a witness with a knowing smile. The Srimad Bhagavatam (Canto 11.7.6), when Krishna speaks to Uddhava before leaving the earth, contains this telling line:
"One who sees the entire universe in the Self and the Self in the entire universe never turns away from it."
Krishna smiled because He saw beyond the immediate, beyond victory and defeat, pain and pleasure, life and death. He saw Truth, the unchanging in the changing, the Self behind the self.


After the war, when Gandhari cursed Krishna, that his entire Yadava clan would perish just as hers did, Krishna accepted it with a smile. Why? Because he had come not to preserve a clan, but to preserve dharma. The Yadavas had grown arrogant, corrupt, and were destined for self-destruction. His smile wasn’t mockery, it was understanding.
"That which is born will die. That which rises will fall. But dharma… dharma must stand." Mahabharata, Mausala Parva


Krishna offered peace, one last time, before the war. When Duryodhana tried to imprison Him instead, Krishna simply smiled and revealed His cosmic form. Why?
Because Krishna already knew, Duryodhana’s ego was past redemption. Sometimes, even God doesn’t interfere with free will. He only reveals the consequences.


The final days of Krishna’s time on earth were tragic. The mighty Yadava clan, intoxicated and deluded, turned against each other and destroyed themselves. Krishna watched and smiled. Why?
Because he knew this too was leela, a cosmic unfolding. When the fruit is ripe, it must fall. Even divine creations, once they outlive their purpose, must return to dust. This was not a smile of apathy. It was the calm of one who sees the ocean beneath the waves.


We’re taught to smile in happy moments. But Krishna smiled when:

• He was wrongly accused by his own people.
• He was cursed for helping establish dharma.
• He saw his loved ones walk into destruction.
• He watched entire kingdoms fall.

So what was that smile made of? Not denial. Not numbness. But truth. A knowing that pain is real, but not eternal. That outcomes are temporary, but dharma is forever. That the soul remains untouched even when the world burns.
न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपाः।
न चैव न भविष्यामः सर्वे वयमतः परम्॥
“There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor will there be a time when any of us cease to be.” Bhagavad Gita 2.12

Not the smile of pretending. Not toxic positivity. But the smile of one who sees beyond the moment. In every heartbreak, betrayal, loss, ask:

• Is this the end, or just a turn in the cycle?
• Is this destruction, or the composting before new life?

Krishna smiled because He lived in alignment, with the truth of time, karma, and dharma. So should we. When Krishna smiled, it was not a smile of detachment. It was the smile of eternal connection, With the world, with truth, with the soul. In a world that wants us to react to every loss, every insult, every downfall, Krishna teaches us to respond with wisdom.
And sometimes, that wisdom looks like a simple, serene smile. A smile that says: “This too shall pass. But what I am… will not.”