Kavi Karnapura or Kavikarnapura ( bn, কবি কর্ণপুরা, born as Parmananda Sen) was a 16th-century Indian Bengali poet in Sanskrit; best known for verse works, ''Chaitanya Charanamrita'' (Mahakavya) and ''Chaitanya Chandrodaya'' (Nataka). He was a junior contemporary of

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna ...

Life and works

Kavi Karnapura was born as (Paramananda Sen) the son of Shivananda Sen, a

Vaidya Vaidya (Sanskrit: ), or vaid is a Sanskrit word meaning "traditional practitioner of Ayurveda", an indigenous Indian system of alternative medicine. Senior practitioners or teachers were called ''Vaidyarāja'' ("physician-king") as a mark of resp ...

and a prominent disciple of Chaitanya. He was born on 1524 in

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influentia ...

of Bengal, about a decade before Chaitanya's passing in 1533 and met Chaitanya several times in

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

and was received the honorific title of 'Kavi Karnapura' ('he 'who adern the poets' ears') by Chaitanya. He was spent his last days at

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

. He has written extensively on the life and teaching of Chaitanya and on the faith of bhakti movement. These include the 'Mahakavya' and 'Nataka' referred to earlier, ''Alamkara-Kaustubha'' (on devotional sentiments), ''Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika'' (Hagiology), ''Ananda -Vrindavana-Champa'' (Interpretation of Krishnalila) and a commentary on the Srimad Bhagavat. Karnapura sought to systematize the faith within a theoretical framework.

References

{{Reflist Indian male poets 16th-century Indian poets Bengali Hindu saints 1524 births Bengali poets Poets from West Bengal