Kanva (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: कण्व '), also called Karnesh, was an ancient

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

rishi ''Rishi'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or ...

of the ''

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by '' Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine years ...

'', to whom some of the hymns of the ''

Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

'' are ascribed. He was one of the Angirasas. He has been called a son of Ghora, but this lineage belongs to Pragatha Kanva, a subsequent Kanva of which there were many., a reprint of the 1922 London Oxford University Press edition. However, Puranic literature has other different lineages for him, one as the son of Apratiratha and grandson of King

Matinara The Panchala (पञ्चाल ''Pañcāla'') kingdom was one of the historical Mahajanapadas of ancient India (c. 30th to 4th centuries BC). It was annexed into the Nanda Empire during the reign of Mahapadma Nanda. Ahichchhatra was capital ...

, and another as the son of Ajamidha, who was a descendant in the ninth generation of Tansu, the brother of Apratiratha (Atiratha), or Ajamidha who was a contemporary of Matinara. This last seems to be the modern consensus. He is sometimes included in the list of the seven sages (the

Saptarishi The Saptarishi () are the seven rishis of ancient India who are extolled in the Vedas, and other Hindu literature. The Vedic Samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, although later Vedic texts such as the Brahmanas and Upanisads do so. ...

s). Kanva had a son Medhatithi. Kanva is also mentioned in Mahabharata as the step-father of

Shakuntala Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption bein ...

. * Kanva (Karnesh) is also the name of a founder of a Vedic

shakha A shakha (Sanskrit ', "branch" or "limb") is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school.V. S. Apte. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 913, left column.Moni ...

of the Shukla Yajur Veda, and hence the name of that theological branch of Hinduism, the

Kanva Shakha {{Hindu scriptures Kānva Shākha (Sanskrit:काण्व शाखा) is the oldest shakha ("branch" or "recension") of Shukla Yajurveda. The ''Kānva'' tradition is followed mostly in Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Karnataka, parts of Maharashtra, Madhy ...

. * Kanva (Karnesh) is also the name of several princes and founders of dynasties and several authors. * The Kanvas (Karnesh) are the descendants of king

Vasudeva Kanva Vasudeva Kanva () was the founder of the Kanva dynasty. He was originally an Amatya (minister) of last Shunga ruler Devabhuti. Vasudeva killed the last Shunga ruler and established Kanva dynasty. Bana's Harshacharita informs us that he came to p ...

(1st century BCE). * The Kanvas are also a class of spirit, against whom hymn 2.25 of the ''

Atharva Veda The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...

'' is used as a charm.

References

Rishis {{Hindu-myth-stub