Kanifnath (
मराठी: कानिफनाथ) also known as Kanhoba (कान्होबा), is a Hindu
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
. He is one of the nine Mahayogis of
Navnath Sampradaya
The Navanath (हिंदी - नवनाथ), also spelt as Navnatha in vernacular languages, are the nine saints, Masters or Naths on whom the Navnath Sampradaya, the lineage of the nine gurus, is based. . Kanifnath is Maharashtrian version of the name
Kanhapad, a Siddha poet.
Kanifnath is considered as an
avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
of
Prabuddha Narayan in one of Nav Narayan. He was a son of Shri
Vrishabha Deva mentioned in
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...
.
Lord Kanifnath was a yogi belong to the Jalandhar branch of
Natha
Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.[Jalandhara
Jalandhara (Sanskrit: जलन्धर, lit. ''he who holds water''), also known as Chalantarana (Sanskrit: चलन्तरण, lit. ''he who walks and swims'') is an asura in Hinduism. He was born when Shiva opened his third eye in his fury w ...]
.
Sources
*Official Website of Kanifnath Devsthan Trust, Madhi: http://www.kanifnathmadhi.org/
Characters in Hindu mythology
Navnath
{{Hindu-bio-stub