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During the last day of Mahabharata war, Kripa accompanied Aswathamaa and helped him to execute the bloody murder of the Upapandavas and other soldiers in Pandava Army. After which there is no mention about Kripacharya in Mahabharata. What happened to him after that? The immortality conferred on him (It is well known that he is Chiranjeevi) is a blessings or curse like Aswathmaa?

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Kripacharya was blessed with longetivity till the end of the Kalpa (Chiranjeevi) and also is scheduled to become one of the Saptarishis of the next Manvantara, as I discuss in this answer.


Also, after the Mahabharata war, as discussed in this answer:

Kripa was installed as the preceptor and Parikshit was made over to him as his disciple.


But, after the decline of the Kuru dynasty, at the advent of Kaliyuga, he must have resorted to his Ashrama, as evident from this verse from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Purāṇa:

ŚB 8.13.15-16

गालवो दीप्तिमान्‌रामो द्रोणपुत्र: कृपस्तथा ।
ऋष्यश‍ृङ्ग: पितास्माकं भगवान्बादरायण: ॥ १५ ॥
इमे सप्तर्षयस्तत्र भविष्यन्ति स्वयोगत: ।
इदानीमासते राजन् स्वे स्व आश्रममण्डले ॥ १६ ॥

O King, during the eighth manvantara, the great personalities Gālava, Dīptimān, Paraśurāma, Aśvatthāmā, Kṛpācārya, Ṛṣyaśṛṅga and our father, Vyāsadeva, the incarnation of Nārāyaṇa, will be the seven sages. For the present, they are all residing in their respective āśramas.


Thus, as per Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, currently, Kripacharya is residing in his Ashrama (but I don't know where the ashrama might be) and will become a Saptarishi in the next Manvantara.

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When Pandavas had decided to renounce the world, Kripacharya was installed as the preceptor of Parikshit. This incident is mentioned in Mahabharata, Book 17: Mahaprasthanika Parva, Section-1.

"Having said these words, king Yudhishthira the just, along with his brothers, promptly offered oblations of water unto Vasudeva of great intelligence, as also unto his old maternal uncle and Rama and others. He then duly performed the Sraddhas of all those deceased kinsmen of his. The king, in honour of Hari and naming him repeatedly, fed the Island-born Vyasa, and Narada, and Markandeya possessed of wealth of penances, and Yajnavalkya of Bharadwaja’s race, with many delicious viands. In honour of Krishna, he also gave away many jewels and gems, and robes and clothes, and villages, and horses and cars, and female slaves by hundreds and thousands unto foremost of Brahmanas. Summoning the citizens. Kripa was installed as the preceptor and Parikshit was made over to him as his disciple, O chief of Bharata’s race.

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    @ Triyugi Narayan Mani Good to know about Kripa after Mahabratha war .But why was he conferred with Immortality?
    – Ganesh
    May 23, 2017 at 7:13
  • @Ganesh This is a separate question. Please look into this: hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/18327/… and this hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/2034/…
    – Triyugi Narayan Mani
    May 23, 2017 at 7:17
  • But Kripa was against the varna dharma and took part in the Mahabartha war. How is this justified?
    – Ganesh
    May 23, 2017 at 7:58
  • @Ganesh He was also the teacher in fact AFAIK was teaching Pandavas before Guru Drona. And you know, guru Drona was also a warrior as well as teacher,
    – Triyugi Narayan Mani
    May 23, 2017 at 8:02
  • But later during the war, his father appears before him (just before his death) and critics his action and going against his varna dharma.
    – Ganesh
    May 23, 2017 at 8:10
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According to the Puranic Encyclopedia, Kṛpa died at the end like everyone else:

8). End of Kṛpa. The great war ended. Duryodhana and others were killed and, when Dhṛtarāṣṭra left for the forest with Gāndhārī, Kṛpa desired to accompany them. But, Dhṛtarāṣṭra did not permit it. as advised by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, put up Kṛpa with him. (Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapter 16, Verse 5). Before the Pāṇḍavas set out on their great journey Yudhiṣṭhira appointed Kṛpa as the preceptor of Parīkṣit, the son of Arjuna. (Mahāprasthāna Parva, Chapter 1, Verse 4). During his last days Kṛpa went into the forest for penance and there he breathed his last. (Śānti Parva, Chapter 296, Verse 14).

But I cannot find the verse in the latest BORI critical edition of the Mahābhārata so it's possible that over the centuries Kṛpa is made immortal a.k.a chiranjīvi by the various interpolators of the Mahābhārata.

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    If the verse in question is indeed an interpolation in the Shanti Parva, then it would be more fitting to draw the opposite conclusion - namely, that Kripacharya's death is something added by interpolators, and in reality Kripacharya is a Chiranjeevi.
    – Keshav Srinivasan ♦
    Jun 1, 2017 at 22:33
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    @KeshavSrinivasan "it would be more fitting to draw the opposite conclusion" - actually no, common sense would tell that if Krishna, Balarama, Vidura, the Pandavas and everyone else died after the war, Kripa and Ashvattama would have died a natural death too but the interpolators had some hidden agenda.
    – Say No To Censorship
    Jun 2, 2017 at 15:49
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    he was Prikshit's grandson's instructor as well ~ sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp114.htm
    – YDS
    Sep 6, 2021 at 14:18

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