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

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

prosody,

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

and

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

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: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

Famous Sanskrit Dandakams

* Shyamala Dandakam -

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 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 Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

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

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

Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

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 hea ...

Divya Desam.

Famous Telugu Dandakams

* Mouni Dandakam - Mallikarjuna Pandit * Bhogini Dandakam - Potana * Astabhasha Dandakam - Tallapaka Chinathirumalacharyulu * Tristhali Dandakam -

Nandi Thimmana Mahakavi Nandi Thimmana ( Telugu: నంది తిమ్మన; c. 15th and 16th centuries CE) was a Telugu poet and an Ashtadiggaja in the imperial court of Emperor Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara. He is often called Mukku Thimmana () ...

* Srungara Dandakam - Tallapaka Pedathirumalacharyulu * Rama Dandakam -

Kancharla Gopanna Kancharla Gopanna () ( – 1688), popularly known as Bhakta Ramadasu or Bhadrachala Ramadasu (), was a 17th-century devotee of the Hindu god Rama, a saint-poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He is a famous ''Vaggeyakara'' (classical compose ...

* Krishna Dandakam - Tekumalla Rangasai * Rajagopala Dandakam - Kavaturi Raghavaiah * Nrisimha Dandakam - Enugu Lakshmanna * Anjaneya Dandakam * Hari/Dasavathara Dandakam -Andhra Natakapithamaha Dhrmavarm Ramakrishnamacharyulu * Andhra Nataka Kavitha Pitamahas - kavitha Sahitya Sangeeta Padya Gadya Chandas Alankara works.

Famous Kannada Dandakams

* Lakshmi Narasimha Pradhurbhava Dandakam -

Sripadaraja Sripadaraja (; ) or Sripadaraya, also known by his pontifical name Lakshminarayana Tirtha, was a Hindu Dvaita philosopher, scholar and composer and the pontiff of the Madhvacharya mutt at Mulbagal. He is widely considered the founder of Har ...

References

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