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Kaṇva

Kaṇva

c. 1350 BCE · Prayagraj

Legendary Vedic seer; no historical dates. He is the eponym of the Kāṇva hymn-family and a recension of the Yajurveda, and the foster-father of Śakuntalā in epic tradition. The date is a Rigvedic-stratum convention; historicity is uncertain.

Kaṇva is a legendary seer associated with a family of Rigvedic hymns (much of Maṇḍala 8 is attributed to the Kāṇva poets) and with the Kāṇva recension of the Śukla (White) Yajurveda, the Kāṇva śākhā being one of its two surviving recensions. In epic and dramatic tradition he is the forest sage who raised Śakuntalā at his hermitage. He is known through scripture and legend rather than historical record.

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Life journeyclick any stop, or use ←/→Trace on the map →

Stop 1 of 1Traditional Association

Prayagraj

We know they were here, but the specifics of what they did at this stop aren’t recorded yet in our corpus.

In Prayagraj at the same time

Dīrghatamas, Bharadvāja

See other sages who lived in Prayagraj

In the same place & time

Sages whose lives overlapped with Kaṇva’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.

In the same tradition

Dīrghatamas, Bharadvāja

The world in their lifetime

Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Kaṇva’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.

Works

No works attributed in the corpus yet.