Kripacharya

Kripa
Kripa in Javanese Wayang

Kripa (Sanskrit: कृप, Kṛpa in IAST transliteration), also known as Kripacharya (Sanskrit: कृपाचार्य) or Krupacharya is an important character in the Mahābhārata, one of the eight Chiranjivi. He was the son of Shardwana and Janapadi, born in a particularly extraordinary manner. He along with his sister Kripi were adopted by King Shantanu. Later on Kripa became an acharya, teacher of the royal children, giving him the name Kripacharya. His twin sister Kripi married Drona. Kripa was among the Maharathis who fought on the Kauravas's side against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war in the Hindu epic of the Mahabharata. Along with others, Kripa is considered to be foremost among the rishis in Kaliyuga. Kripa will also become one of the Saptarishi in the 8th Manvantara.

Gautama Maharishi had a grandson called Shardwana (or Sharadvana). Shardwana was born with arrows, making clear he was a born archer. As he matured, he became such a great archer, and began doing penance to become an unbeatable one. This threatened the gods, especially Indra. He then sent a beautiful Apsara, Janapadi, from heaven to distract the celibate saint. Shardwana was distracted by the sight of such a beautiful woman and lost some control, dropping his weapons and retreating into the forest to undergo more penance. His semen fell on some weeds by the wayside, dividing the weeds into two - from which a boy and a girl were born. The king of Hastinapura, Shantanu was crossing from there and saw the children by the wayside. One look at them was enough for him to realize that they were the children of a great Brahmin. He named them Kripa and Kripi, and decided to take them back with him to his palace.