Dandakam or Dhandakam (Telugu: దండకం) is a literary style of poetry seen in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

prosody,

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

languages. The Stotrams of the Dandakam exceed 26 syllables, and resemble prose. Though verbose and rich in content, Dandakams are actually rarely found in Sanskrit literature when compared to general Stotrams perhaps due to their very complex structure. Most of the Dandakams can be set to a musical notation and are generally sung as Ragamalikas instead of chanting them in the form of

Mantras A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

Famous Sanskrit Dandakams

* Shyamala Dandakam -

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

- Perhaps the most famous Dandakam, this Stotram praises the divine goddess Shyamala Devi. This Dandakam was popularized by the legendary singer D.K. Pattammal. * Garuda Dandakam -

Vedanta Desika Vedanta Desikan (1268–1369), also rendered Vedanta Desikar, Swami Vedanta Desikan, and Thoopul Nigamaantha Desikan, was an Indian polymath who wrote philosophical as well as religious and poetical works in several languages, including Sans ...

- It is said that Desika composed it to summon the mighty

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...

when a snake charmer challenged him. *Komala Dandakam - Velambur Sri Varada Vishnu Kavi (''Kettandapatti Andavan'') - This beautiful Dandakam is composed on Komalavalli Nachiyar presiding in the

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...

Divya Desam.

Famous Telugu Dandakams

* Mouni Dandakam - Mallikarjuna Pandit * Bhogini Dandakam -

Potana Bammera Pothana (Telugu language, Telugu: బమ్మెర పోతన) (1450–1510) was a Telugu people, Telugu Shaiva poet best known for his translation of the Bhagavata Purana, Srimad Bhaagavatam from Sanskrit to Telugu language, Telugu ...

* Astabhasha Dandakam - Tallapaka Chinathirumalacharyulu * Tristhali Dandakam -

Nandi Thimmana Nandi Thimmana (15th and 16th centuries CE) was a Telugu poet and one of the ''Astadiggajas'' (literally eight elephants) in the court of the king Krishnadevaraya. He is often called Mukku Thimmana (Thimmana of the nose) after his celebrated poe ...

* Srungara Dandakam - Tallapaka Pedathirumalacharyulu * Rama Dandakam -

Kancharla Gopanna Kancharla Gopanna ( te, కంచర్ల గోపన్న) ( – 1688), popularly known as Bhakta Ramadasu or Bhadrachala Ramadasu ( te, భద్రాచల రామదాసు), was a 17th-century devotee of the Hindu god Rama, a sain ...

* Krishna Dandakam - Tekumalla Rangasai * Rajagopala Dandakam - Kavaturi Raghavaiah * Nrisimha Dandakam - Enugu Lakshmanna * Anjaneya Dandakam

Famous Kannada Dandakams

* Lakshmi Narasimha Pradhurbhava Dandakam -

Sripadaraja Sripadaraja ( sa, श्रीपादराज; ) or Sripadaraya, also known by his pontifical name Lakshminarayana Tirtha (1422 - 1480), was a Hindu Dvaita philosopher, scholar and composer and the pontiff of the Madhvacharya mutt at Mulb ...

References

* Samagra Andhra Sahityam, Arudra, Volume 3, Telugu Akademi, Hyderabad, 2004, Pages: 516-30. Telugu-language literature {{poetry-stub