Birth of Daṇḍakāraṇya

King Daṇḍa ruled the region between the Vindhya and Nīla mountains. He did a grave wrong to Arājā, the daughter of his own guru Śukrācārya. In anger, Śukra pronounced a śāpa (curse) that a rain of dust and ash would destroy Daṇḍa’s whole kingdom in seven days. It came to pass, and the ruined land became the great forest called Daṇḍakāraṇya, the Forest of Daṇḍa.

Daṇḍa’s kingdom

Daṇḍa was a younger son in the line of Ikshvāku, which came down through Ikshvāku’s son Manu. The younger sons were given parts of the family’s land, and Daṇḍa received the region of Vindhya and Nīla, between the Vindhya and Nīla mountain ranges. He set up his kingdom there and ruled it. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Ch. 37)

Śukrācārya as guru

Like other kings of the solar line, Daṇḍa had Śukrācārya as his royal guru. Śukrācārya is the great ācārya of the asuras. He is a master of all vidyās (branches of knowledge) and holds the Mṛtasañjīvanī (the knowledge that brings the dead back to life). Having him as guru was a very high honour, and it placed Śukra in a position of deep respect and trust in Daṇḍa’s kingdom.

The bond between guru and śishya (student) asks for complete reverence and protection. The guru’s family is to be treated as even more sacred than one’s own. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Ch. 37)

The crime against Arājā

Śukrācārya’s daughter was Arājā. She was a young woman of rare beauty and lived in her father’s āśrama (hermitage). Desire overcame Daṇḍa. He went to her and took her by force. This was the gravest adharma, done to the daughter of his own guru. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Ch. 37)

Śukra’s śāpa

When Śukrācārya learned what had been done to his daughter, his anger knew no limit. His power of tapas (austerity) and of śāpa was second to none. He pronounced his śāpa on Daṇḍa with full force:

“Within seven days a rain of dust and ash will fall on your kingdom. Everything within your realm will be destroyed: you, your armies, your ministers, your horses, your elephants, your citizens and every creature that lives within your borders. Nothing will survive. Your kingdom will become a wasteland.”

The śāpa was not only against Daṇḍa himself. It fell on the whole land that his crime had stained. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Ch. 37)

The śāpa comes true

It happened just as Śukra said. Within seven days a terrible storm of dust and ash, raised by Indra at Śukra’s command, came down on Daṇḍa’s kingdom. For seven days the rain of ash fell without a break.

Daṇḍa himself died. His army, his city, his horses and elephants, his ministers and his people were all swallowed by the unending fall of dust and ash. The kingdom was wiped out. No living being inside the bounds of the śāpa survived. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Ch. 37)

The birth of Daṇḍakāraṇya

The vast, empty land that had been Daṇḍa’s kingdom, with no life and no city left, became a great forest wilderness. The forest took its name from the king whose crime had led to its ruin: Daṇḍakāraṇya.

This is the great forest of the Rāmāyaṇa. Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa travelled deep into it during their exile, and there they met many ṛshis, rākshasas and sacred places. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Ch. 37)

Rāma’s judgment in the Gadda case

The Purāṇa also gives, in this chapter, an account of Rāma giving judgment in a case about gadda. A matter of guḍlaguḷu, a contest or game of the region, came before Rāma, and he gave a fair judgment. It shows Rāma’s care for justice even in small matters. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Ch. 37)

Rāma goes to Agastya

After this account, Rāma goes on to visit Agastya Maharshi. He continues his journey south through the forest. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Ch. 37)

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 37