The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India c5.s3.19

c5.s3.19

Ḍaṇḍakāraṇya—Same as Mahārāshṭra (Rāmāyaṇa, Āraṇya, ch. I, and Dr. Bhandarkar’s Early History of the Dekkan, Sec. II) including Nagpur. Rāmachandra lived here for a long time. According to the Rāmāyaṇa, it was situated between the Vindhya and the Saibala mountains: a part of it was called Janasthāna (Uttara K., ch. 81; Uttara-Rāmacharita, Act II). According to Mr. Pargiter, Ḍaṇḍakāraṇya comprised all the forests from Bundelkhand to the river Krishṇā (The Geography of Rāma’s Exile in JRAS., 1894, p. 242). Bhavabhūti places it to the west of Janasthāna (Uttara Rāmacharita, Act I).