Krishnadasa (born 1496, died 1588), known by the honorific Kaviraja (Bengali: কৃষ্ণদাস কবিরাজ, romanized: Kṛṣṇôdas Kôviraj; IAST: Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja), was the author of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, a biography on the life of the mystic and saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533), who is considered by the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Hinduism to be an incarnation of Radha and Krishna combined.
After receiving instructions in a vision from Nityananda, Krishnadasa left Bengal and travelled to Vrindavan where he took initiation from Raghunatha dasa Goswami (1494–1586 CE), one of the direct followers of Chaitanya.
Still, I write, and this is a great wonder.” In composing his Charitamrita, Krishnadasa used the diaries of Murari Gupta and Svarupa Damodara, both of whom were intimate associates of Chaitanya.
Krishnadasa was also given a great deal of information by his guru, Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, who had served Svarupa Damodara when the latter was Chaitanya's personal secretary.
In the Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika of Kavi Karnapura, Krishnadasa Kaviraja is identified as being an incarnation of the handmaiden of Radha called Kasturi Manjari.