One day when King Danda went hunting in the forest, he saw a beautiful woman. "I am King Danda!" he said. "Who are you?"
"I am Aruja," she said, "daughter of Shukra."
King Danda then forced himself on his guru's daughter.
Weeping, Aruja told her father what Danda had done.
Shukra cursed the king. "Because you are no better than a jungle animal, this kingdom of yours will now become a jungle!"
That is the origin of the Dandaka Forest.
Inspired by: Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana by Devdutt Pattanaik
Notes: This story is on p. 103 of the book. In Valmiki's Ramayana, this is the Uttara Kanda (Book 7), sarga 80. In the dramatic version in Valmiki, the sage curses the king and all his family to die in the space of seven days, and he also curses every living thing in the kingdom to die. The sage and his disciples leave the hermitage before everything turns to dust and ashes, but he makes his daughter stay there: she will not be turned to dust and instead she will provide a small place of refuge for the animals who flee there to find her: "Remain in this hermitage, O Foolish One, and give thyself up to meditation. O Aruja, awaiting the time of your deliverance, enjoy carefree this lake of enchanting aspect four miles in extent! Those creatures that take refuge with you at that time will in no wise suffer from the rain of dust!’ At the command of the Brahmarishi, her Sire, Aruja, who was overcome with grief, answered; ‘So be it!’"
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