232 
ON THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS 
have seen, three rulers Dandaka, Tundira and Adonda, who 
conferred in their turn their names on it. This tradition 
seems to rest on a very slight foundation. Not only do these 
rulers appear in a different sequence, at least so far asDandaka 
and Tundira are concerned, but their names resemble one 
another to auch an extent, that one cannot help suspecting their 
being in reality only variations of the same identical term. 
Danda or Dandaka was the son of the ancient king Iksvaku, 
and was cursed by Sukracarya for carrying off his daughter 
Abjd. In consequence of this curse the pious hermits left 
;the country, and it became an uninhabitable waste land. 
According to ancient accounts Dandakdranxja, the forest of 
Danda or Dandaka, was situated between the Narmada and 
'Godavari rivers, but its limits were gradually widened, till 
at stretched all over Southern India. On the other hand the 
province, in whose centre lies the present City of Madras, 
iwas specially distinguished as Tondamandalam. So far as 
I am informed nothing is known about a Dravidian king 
Dandaka, and this present form of the name suggests a Sans- 
feit origin. I am, however, of opinion that Danda, Tunda, 
Tundira are all variations of the same identical word, though 
it is difficult, if not impossible, to decide whether this term 
is of Sanskrit or Gauda-Dravidian source. It is not impro- 
bable that the king Danda and the demon Tttnda — peculiarly 
enough Tondlra is described as a leader of demon bands — 
;are the representatives of an aboriginal population. The 
jiame of the Tundikeras behind the Vindhyan mountains 
bears some resemblance to Tonda. After Tundira Kanclpuram 
is occasionally called Tund'irajniram, a designation which 
would assign its foundation to a remote antiquitj-. Tondi is 
.also the name of a town, and Tondiarpd is a subui-b of 
Madi'as. It is now commonly called Tandiyarpet psiyr^imrn-- 
Gu.li>i»(_, as Adondai is in Tamil similarly pixmounced 
Adandai.^^^ 
'^^Compiuo the Sanskrit- irortfifhiick von (^tto BdhUiiigk and Rudolph 
■Both, vol. III. pp. i'.)!, -195 uiuier'?^ itud <i"-S * . II. H. M'ilson's Viflwu- 
