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Concept
Kripa
Summary
Kripa (Kṛpa), also known as Kripacharya (Kṛpācārya), is a figure in Hindu History. According to the epic Mahabharata, he was a council member of Kuru Kingdom and a teacher of the Pandava and Kaurava princes.
Born to warrior-sage Sharadvan and nymph Janapadi in an extraordinary manner, Kripa and his sister Kripi were adopted by King Shantanu of Kuru Kingdom. Kripa was trained by his birth father and became a great archer like him. Later in the epic, he fought on the Kauravas's side against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war and was among the few survivors of the war.
Kripa is considered as a Chiranjivi, an immortal being destined to live until the end of the Kali Yuga, the last yuga (age). According to some texts, he will also become one of the Saptarishi—the seven revered sages—in the next Manvantara, which is a cyclic period of time in Hindu cosmology.
The Sanskrit word Kripa (Kṛpa) means 'pity' or 'mercy'. According to the Mahabharata (c. 700 BCE - 400 CE), he and his sister were named "Kripa" and "Kripi" as they were adopted by King Shantanu out of pity. Kripa was given the title "acharya" ('master') as he was an expert archer.
In the epic, Kripa is known by many other names including Gautama ('descendant of Gautama'), Sharadvata ('son of Sharadvan'), Sharadvanputra ('son of Sharadvan') and Bharatacharya ('teacher of the descendants of Bharat').
According to the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata, a boy named Sharadvan was born to sage Gautama and his wife Ahalya. Contradictory to this account, some later Puranic scriptures such as Agni Purana mention him as Gautama's great-grandson. Sharadvan showed great passion in archery and as he matured, he became a great archer. He once did penance to become indomitable, but this threatened the devas, especially Indra. He then sent a beautiful apsara (celestial nymph), Janapadi, from heaven to distract the celibate saint. When Sharadvan saw her, he lost his control and ejaculated. Ashamed of his actions, he left his weapons and went deep into a forest.
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