Women in Mahabharata - Jaanapadi
She is noted as the mother of the twins Kripa and Kripi.
A king [noted as Indra] is threatened by the military [archery] proficiency of Sharadvana, a rishi belonging to the Panchala-Maudgalya sect, and sends an 'apsara' [Jaanapadi] to distract him.
It works temporarily, but one day, Sharadvana freaks out about his life choices and runs away, leaving even his ajina dress and archery kit without even knowing that he has children.
Once the twins are born, fearing societal backlash without their father present to shield them, Jaanapadi abandons them in a forest where they are found and informally adopted by King Shantanu.
Interestingly, the word Jaanapadi is loosely a synonym of the mahajanapada-era term 'nagara-vadhu', or the much closer 'jana-pada-kalyani', and this term clarifies the identity/position of this woman within that particular kingdom where the rishi had been residing at the time.
