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Mahābhārata The History of the Great India
<< 18 Santanu Finds The Twins >>
 |  | Once when King Santanu was hunting, one of his soldiers happened to see the twins lying in the forest. Seeing too the bow and arrows that had fallen there, and also the black deer skins, the soldier determined the children to be offspring of a brahmana who had mastered the Dhanur Veda. He showed the twins and the arrows to the king, who was filled with compassion. Taking the twins, the king went back to his home. "These two shall be my own children," he said. He raised them carefully and engaged them in the purifying religious rites. Meanwhile, Saradvan, son of Gautama, having escaped the wiles of the Apsara maiden, rededicated himself to the military science.
| | | The king thought, "I have carefully raised these two children out of a sense of mercy," and so he named the male child Krpa ("mercy"), and the female Krpi ("lady mercy").
| | | By his powerful austerities, Saradvan, the son of Gautama, discovered that he had fathered two children. He went to the king and explained everything about the birth and lineage of the twins. Saradvan then taught his son the four branches of the Dhanur Veda and fully explained the use of all kinds of weapons. Within a short time, Krpa became a great teacher, paramacarya, of the military art. From him the sons of Dhrtarastra and the mighty Pandavas, along with the Vrsnis and other kings who came from many countries, all learned the Dhanur Veda and achieved the exalted warrior status of maharatha.
| | | Sri Vaisampayana said:
Bhisma sought a distinct excellence for his grandsons and desired for them self-discipline and selflessness. He searched for great teachers of archery and missile warfare renowned for their prowess. Only a man of great intelligence, exalted qualities, keen knowledge of weapons, and the strength and nobility of the gods could hope to control the mighty Kuru warriors and train them in the use of weapons. [That person would be Drona, whose story follows.]
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