Nath Siddha Kanipa was- born as a Brahmin in the Kingdom of Gaura near Bengal. His father is reputed to have been the fisherman who caught the fish from which Matsyendranath appeared. Nath Siddha Kanipa`s guru was Jalandhara and his legends are rich in tales of the Bamarg or Left Hand Path.
Nath Siddha Kanipa was instrumental in the rise of the Kapalika and Carya traditions and composed a famous cycle of Bengali Carya songs known as the Caryagiti. Nath Siddha Kanipa is also held to be one of the founders of the Aghori sect, and many snake charmers claim Nath Siddha Kanipa as their root guru. In one anecdote Matsyendranath and Goraknath hosted a tantric feast and each participant was free to choose his own food. Nath Siddha Kanipa`s chosen dish was cooked snakes and scorpions, and he was promptly banished from the feast. In the Buddhist legend the tale of Nath Siddha Kanipa leads to his ultimate death due to the curse by a dakini. On the deathbed of Nath Siddha Kanipa, he taught the headless Vajra Varahi sadhana. This kind of Sadhana depicts worshipping a deity assimilated with the headless Mahavidya goddess Chinnamastra.
Nath Siddha Kanipa is represented in a smashan (burning ghat) wearing bone ornaments and holding a skull cup, double-sided drum and tantric staff. Above the head of Nath Siddha Kanipa, seven drums and canopies are seemed to float. This picture of Nath Siddha Kanipa, spontaneously manifest as evidences of his accomplishment. Nath Siddha Kanipa is seated upon the resurrected corpse of a vetala (vampire or ghoul).
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