Kahnapa

Kahnapa (c 10th century AD) Buddhist siddh'a'ch'a'rya (one who has attained divine grace) and poet of charyapada, contemporary with Devapala (c 900-50 AD) of the Pal dynasty. His name was originally Krsnacharya Pada, but it was subsequently distorted to Kahnapa, Kanhapa, Kahnil Pa, etc. He is considered to be the greatest of the Chary'a'pada poets.

Like the other writers of the Charyapada, Kahnapa too was a lover of music, and each distich begins with the name of the raga and tal, or the musical tune and measure. Kahnapa';s poetic genius is manifest in his use of metaphors and similes. Other works attributed to him include K'a'hnap'a'dag'i'tik'a, Shr'i'hevajrapa'v'jik'a' Yogaratnam'a'l'a, Hevajras'a'dhan Tattvodyotakara, Hevajrapaddhati Ma'n'dalavidhi. [Wakil Ahmed] [Ahmed, Wakil former Vice Chancellor, National University]