Khana woman seer, composer of nature saws. Her dates have been variously given, and range from 800 AD to 1200 AD. According to one account, she belonged to the village of Deuli in Barasat in 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Her father was Anacharya, and she stayed in King Chakraketu's monastery for a considerable period.

According to another account, she was the daughter of the king of Sinhala (Sri Lanka). She was named Ksana (moment) or Khana because she was born at an auspicious moment. Meanwhile, at the court of Vikramaditya, the wife of the astrologer Varaha had given birth to a boy named Mihir. When Varaha cast Mihir's horoscope, he found that the boy would die shortly afterwards. Varaha put the child in a pot and floated the pot out to sea. The pot floated to Sinhala where its king brought the boy up and subsequently arranged his marriage with Khana. Both Mihir and Khana studied astrology and became expert astrologers.

Mihir then returned to his place of birth with his wife. He became a courtier of Vikramaditya and became famous as an astrologer. One day both father and son faced a problem in astrology. Khana came forward and successfully solved the problem. This drew the attention of King Vikramaditya. Apprehending that he would to lose his position at court, Mihir cut off Khana's tongue so that she would be unable to speak henceforth. Khana died shortly afterwards.

Khana is associated with many forecasts, known as Khanar Vachan, about the weather, astrology, crops, productivity etc. Khana's advice used to work as guides for farmers for a long time, telling them when to plant and how to till the soil for different products. She also suggested which way a house should face, where trees should be planted, and where a pond should be dug. Her advice about what and how much one should eat is often cited by mothers to children: 'A little bit of salt, a little bit of bitter, and always stop before you are too full'. Some of her advice is still followed. [Azhar Islam]