Kaviparamēṣṭhi
Kaviparamēṣṭhi (KP) is often named along with the logician Samantabhadra and the grammarian Pūjyapāda in Old Kannada jaina poems, wherein these three are described as the past masters (purāṇa-puruṣar). Since the names are usually listed in the order Samantabhadra - Kaviparamēṣṭhi - Pūjyapāda, R.Narasiṁhācharya takes KP to be chronologically between Samantabhadra and Pūjyapāda.
In the Sanskrit Ādipurāṇa, Jinasēna (ca. 837 CE) says that KP compiled the biographies of the jina-s completely, and that it was called ‘Vāgarthasaṅgraha’. Guṇabhadra in his Uttarapurāṇa (ca. 850 CE) says that Jinasena’s Ādipurāṇa is based on a prose version by KP.
Pampa, Nayasēna, Nāgacandra, Guṇavarma and Cāvuṃḍarāya are some of the Kannada poets that mention Kaviparamēṣṭhi. While Nēṃicandra (ca. 1150 CE) states that KP wrote a purāṇa with biographies of the 24 tīrthaṅkaras, Cāvuṇḍarāya (ca. 980 CE) states that KP wrote a Triṣaṣṭi-śalākāpuruṣa-purāṇa.His Cāvuṇḍarāya-purāṇa reproduces a few verses, attributing them to KP. This is at odds with Guṇabhadra’s statement that KP wrote his purāṇa in prose.