01.120
Pancharatra:Kripa's story.
janamejaya uvāca॥
Janamejaya said.
kṛpasyāpi mahābrahman sambhavaṁ vaktum arhasi । śarastambhāt kathaṁ jajñe kathaṁ cāstrāṇy avāptavān ॥1॥
O great Brāhmaṇa, you ought to tell also the origin of Kṛpa. How was he born from the column of arrows, and how did he obtain weapons?
vaiśampāyana uvāca॥
Vaiśampāyana said.
maharṣer gautamasya āsīt śaradvān nāma nāmataḥ । putraḥ kila mahārāja jātaḥ saha śarair vibho ॥2॥
O great king, there was a son of the great sage Gautama named Śaradvat, who was born along with arrows, O lord.
na tasya vedādhyayane tathā buddhir ajāyata । yathāsya buddhir abhavad dhanurvede parantapa ॥3॥
His intellect did not arise so much in the Vedas as it did in the science of archery, O scorcher of foes.
adhijagmur yathā vedāṁs tapasā brahmavādinaḥ । tathā sa tapasopetaḥ sarvāṇy astrāṇy avāpa ha ॥4॥
As the speakers of Brahman mastered the Vedas through austerity, so he, endowed with austerity, indeed obtained all weapons.
dhanurvedaparatvāc ca tapasā vipulena ca । bhṛśaṁ santāpayām āsa devarājaṁ sa gautamaḥ ॥5॥
Due to his deep devotion to archery and intense austerity, that Gautama greatly afflicted the king of the gods.
tato jālapadīṁ nāma devakanyāṁ sureśvaraḥ । prāhiṇot tapaso vighnaṁ kuru tasya iti kaurava ॥6॥
Then the lord of gods sent a divine maiden named Jālapadī as an obstacle to his austerity, O Kaurava.
sābhigamya āśramapadaṁ ramaṇīyaṁ śaradvataḥ । dhanurbāṇadharaṁ bālā lobhayām āsa gautamam ॥7॥
She approached the delightful hermitage of Śaradvat and tempted Gautama, the bearer of bow and arrows.
tām ekavasanāṁ dṛṣṭvā gautamo'psarasaṁ vane । loke'pratimasansthānām utphullanayano'bhavat ॥8॥
Seeing her clothed in a single garment, Gautama beheld the nymph in the forest and became wide-eyed, for she had a matchless form in the world.
dhanuś ca hi śarāś cāsya karābhyāṁ prāpatan bhuvi । vepathuś cāsya tāṁ dṛṣṭvā śarīre samajāyata ॥9॥
His bow and arrows indeed fell from his hands to the ground, and trembling arose in his body on seeing her.
sa tu jñānagarīyastvāt tapasaś ca samanvayāt । avatasthé mahāprājño dhairyeṇa parameṇa ha ॥10॥
However, due to the superiority of knowledge and combination of austerity, the great sage stood firm with supreme steadiness.
yastv asya sahasā rājan vikāraḥ samapadyata । tena susrāva reto'sya sa ca tan nāvabudhyata ॥11॥
O king, a sudden change occurred in him, and thereby his semen was discharged, but he did not realize it.
sa vihāyāśramaṁ taṁ ca tāṁ caivāpsarasaṁ muniḥ । jagāma retas tat tasya śarastambe papāta ha ॥12॥
Abandoning that hermitage and that nymph, the sage went away, and his semen fell on the arrow-pile.
śarastambe ca patitaṁ dvidhā tad abhavan nṛpa । tasyātha mithunaṁ jajñe gautamasya śaradvataḥ ॥13॥
O king, that which fell on the arrow-pile became divided in two, and a pair was born of Gautama, Śaradvat’s line.
mṛgayāṁ carato rājñaḥ śantanos tu yadṛcchayā । kaścit senācaro'raṇye mithunaṁ tad apaśyata ॥14॥
While King Śantanu was hunting, a soldier by chance saw that pair in the forest.
dhanuś ca saśaraṁ dṛṣṭvā tathā kṛṣṇājināni ca । vyavasiya brāhmaṇāpatyaṁ dhanurvedāntagasya tat । sa rājñe darśayām āsa mithunaṁ saśaraṁ tadā ॥15॥
Seeing the bow with arrows and also the black-deer-skins, he concluded they were offspring of a Brāhmaṇa versed in Dhanurveda, and he showed the armed pair to the king.
sa tad ādāya mithunaṁ rājātha kṛpayānvitaḥ । ājagāma gṛhān eva mama putrāv iti bruvan ॥16॥
Then the king, filled with compassion, took the pair and came home saying, “These are my sons.”
tataḥ saṁvardhayām āsa saṁskāraiś cāpy ayojayat । gautamo'pi tadā petya dhanurvedaparo'bhavat ॥17॥
Then he raised them and also performed sacraments, and Gautama, arriving then, became devoted to archery.
kṛpayā yan mayā bālāv imau saṁvardhitāv iti । tasmāt tayor nāma cakre tad eva sa mahīpatiḥ ॥18॥
Because I raised these two children with compassion, the king gave them names based on that very act.
nihitau gautamas tatra tapasā tāv avindata । āgamya cāsmai gotrādi sarvam ākhyātavāṁs tadā ॥19॥
Gautama found those two there through austerity, and coming to him then, told him everything including lineage.
caturvidhaṁ dhanurvedam astrāṇi vividhāni ca । nikhilenāsya tat sarvaṁ guhyam ākhyātavāṁs tadā ॥ so'cireṇaiva kālena paramācāryatāṁ gataḥ ॥20॥
He taught him the fourfold Dhanurveda and various secret weapons fully, and in short time he attained supreme mastery.
tato'dhijagmuḥ sarve te dhanurvedaṁ mahārathāḥ । dhṛtarāṣṭrātmajāś caiva pāṇḍavāś ca mahābalāḥ ॥ vṛṣṇayaś ca nṛpāś cānye nānādeśasamāgatāḥ ॥21॥
Then all those great warriors — sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the mighty Pāṇḍavas, the Vṛṣṇis, and kings from various regions — mastered Dhanurveda.
