  We explore the possibilities of creating radiatively stable entangled states
of two three-level dipole-interacting atoms in a $\Lambda$ configuration by
means of laser biharmonic continuous driving or pulses. We propose three
schemes for generation of entangled states which involve only the lower states
of the $\Lambda$ system, not vulnerable to radiative decay. Two of them employ
coherent dynamics to achieve entanglement in the system, whereas the third one
uses optical pumping, i.e., an essentially incoherent process.
