Kannauj (Hindi: कन्नौज, Urdu: قنوج, formerly known in English as Cannodge), also spelt Kanauj, is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a modern form of the classical name Kanyakubja (The city of the hunchbacked maidens). It was also known as Mahodaya during the time of Mihira Bhoja I. Kannauj is an ancient city, in earlier times the capital of the Empire of Harsha under Emperor Harsha. It is said that Kanyakubja Brahmin's are originally from Kannauj. Kannauj is known for the distilling of scents and is a market center for tobacco, perfume, and rose water. It has given its name to a distinct dialect of the Hindi language known as Kanauji, which has two different codes or registers.