Daṇḍaka

Daṇḍaka

Daṇḍaka is a name used for more than one being or place in the Purāṇas and Itihāsas. Each is listed below with where it is told; choose the one you are looking for.

People

• Daṇḍaka the Thief: a thief of the Dvāpara Yuga who did every kind of pāpa, yet one chance act at a Vishṇu temple took him to Vaikuṇṭha. Padma Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 2

Places

• Daṇḍakāraṇya: the Daṇḍaka land and forest of the south, which arose from Śukrācārya’s śāpa and where Rāma spent much of his exile. Padma Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 37; Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 13, 19, 37–40, 57, 63; Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 18; Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Āraṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 6, 29–31

Named in passing

• Daṇḍaka the gaṇa: a gaṇa of Skanda who lifted a great asura with his vāhana and hurled him into the ocean, told on Tāraka Vadha and Krauñca. Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 32
• The Daṇḍaka kshetra: a kshetra in Śītavana at Kurukshetra that purifies by mere sight, told on Tīrthas of Kurukshetra. Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 14