Kripa
| Kripa | |
|---|---|
| Mahabharata character | |
 A manuscript painting of Kripa during Kurukshetra War | |
| Information | |
| Position | Acharya of Kuru Kingdom |
| Affiliation | |
| Weapon | Bow and Arrow |
| Family | |
| Relatives |
|
| Home | Kuru Kingdom |
Kripa (Sanskrit: कृप, lit. 'pity', IAST: Kṛpa), also known as Kripacharya (Sanskrit: कृपाचार्य, IAST: Kṛpācārya), is a figure in Hindu legends. According to the epic Mahabharata, he was a council member of Kuru kingdom and a teacher of the Pandava and Kaurava princes. He is also a teacher of many warriors mentioned in the Mahabharata, including Karna.
Born to warrior-sage Sharadvan and apsara Janapadi in an extraordinary manner, Kripa and his twin-sister Kripi were adopted by King Shantanu of the Kuru Kingdom. Kripa was trained by his birth father and became a great archer like him. Later in the epic, he fought on the Kaurava side against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War and was among the three survivors from the Kaurava side, along with Ashwatthama and Kritavarma.
Kripa is a chiranjivi, an immortal 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.