Shloka 107
गौतमान्मिथुनं जज्ञे शरस्तम्बाच्छरद्वत: | अश्वत्थाम्नश्न॒ जननी कृपश्चैव महाबल:,किसी समय गौतमगोत्रीय शरद्वानका वीर्य सरकंडेके समूहपर गिरा और दो भागोंमें बँट गया। उसीसे एक कन्या और एक पुत्रका जन्म हुआ। कन्याका नाम कृपी था, जो अश्वत्थामाकी जननी हुई। पुत्र महाबली कृपके नामसे विख्यात हुआ
Gautamān mithunaṃ jajñe śarastambāc charadvataḥ | aśvatthāmnaś ca jananī kṛpī caiva mahābalāḥ kṛpaś caiva ||
Daśa said: From the Gautama-lineage sage Śaradvat, a pair of children was born from a clump of reeds. His seed had fallen upon the reed-thicket and, dividing into two, produced a girl and a boy. The girl was named Kṛpī—later the mother of Aśvatthāmā—and the boy became famed as the mighty Kṛpa. The account underscores how extraordinary births and unforeseen circumstances can still lead to figures who play decisive roles in the moral and martial history of the Bhāratas.
दाश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that birth and destiny can arise from unexpected circumstances, yet such origins do not diminish one’s later significance; it frames Kṛpa and Kṛpī as divinely-tinged figures whose later choices and affiliations will matter ethically in the epic’s unfolding.
Daśa narrates the origin story of Śaradvat’s twins: his seed falls on a reed-thicket, divides into two, and from it are born Kṛpī and Kṛpa; Kṛpī later becomes Aśvatthāmā’s mother, and Kṛpa becomes renowned as a mighty man.