Janamejaya Asks Vaishampayana About Kripa's Origin
As the epic narrative flows around him, King Janamejaya hears the name Kripa and stops the recitation. He demands to know the origin story of this warrior-teacher, born from reeds.
In the middle of Vaishampayana’s recitation of the larger history, King Janamejaya heard a name that sparked a question. The narrative had mentioned Kripa, the great teacher of weapons to both the Kauravas and the Pandavas.
Janamejaya stopped the sage. “O, great Brahmana!” he said. “Please tell me about Kripa. How was he born from a clump of reeds? And how did he get his weapons?”
With that direct question, the king of the Kurus initiated a digression. He wanted the backstory, the origin tale nested within the epic. Vaishampayana accepted the question and began his narration.