Daṇḍa

Daṇḍa was a powerful king who came to the tīrtha (holy place) of Hāṭakeśvara for the weddings of several divine women. There he wronged Araja, the daughter of Śukrācārya. Śukrācārya’s śāpa (a curse) destroyed Daṇḍa’s whole kingdom. The ruined land became the forest called Daṇḍakāraṇya.

The crime and the śāpa

Daṇḍa had come to Hāṭakeśvara for the great occasion of the weddings. When he saw Araja, the daughter of Śukrācārya, her beauty overwhelmed his judgment. He pursued her and violated her against her will.

Araja went to her father at once. Śukrācārya was the preceptor of the asuras. His power came from his learning and from his mastery of mṛtasañjīvanī, the knowledge that brings the dead back to life. He pronounced a terrible śāpa. It fell not only on Daṇḍa but on his whole kingdom: its subjects, cities, forests and every living being within his lands. Fire fell from the sky, with ash and darkness, and everything was destroyed. This is told in Chapter 40 of the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa.

Daṇḍakāraṇya

The land left empty by the śāpa came to be called Daṇḍakāraṇya, “the forest of Daṇḍa”. It carries his name as a lasting record of what his act brought on his kingdom. This forest later became the wilderness that Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa entered in their years of exile.

Sources

• Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 37–40