Dandakaranya, physiographic region in east-central India. Extending over an area of about 35,600 square miles (92,300 square km), it includes the Abujhmar Hills in the west and borders the Eastern Ghats in the east. The Dandakaranya includes parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh states. It has dimensions of about 200 miles (320 km) from north to south and about 300 miles (480 km) from east to west.
The region derives its name from the Dandak Forest (the abode of the demon Dandak) in the Hindu epic Ramayana. It was successively ruled by the Nalas, Vakatakas, and Chalukyas in ancient times and now is the home of the Gond people. Most of the region is a sanded-over peneplain with a gradual downward slope from north to southwest. The Dandakaranya consists of wide, forested plateaus and hills that rise abruptly on the eastern side and gradually decrease in elevation toward the west. There are also several relatively extensive plains. It is drained by the Mahanadi River (with its tributaries, including the Tel, Jonk, Udanti, Hatti, and Sandul) and the Godavari River (with its tributaries, including the Indravati and Sabari). The plateaus and hillsides have a thin veneer of loamy soils, while the plains and valleys have fertile alluvial soils. The region has economically valuable moist forests of sal (Shorea robusta) that occupy almost half of its total area. The economy is based on subsistence agriculture; crops include rice, pulses (legumes), and oilseeds.
Industries consist of rice and dal (pigeon pea) milling, sawmilling, bone-meal manufacturing, bidi (cigarette) making, beekeeping, and furniture making. There are deposits of bauxite, iron ore, and manganese. The Dandakaranya Development Authority was created by the union (central) government in 1958 to assist refugees from what was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). It constructed the Bhaskel and Pakhanjore irrigation projects in southwestern Odisha and southern Chhattisgarh, respectively; woodworking centers at locations such as Jagdalpur and Umerkote in Chhattisgarh; and roads and railways in the refugee resettlement areas, including an east-west railway project across central Odisha. A factory that mainly produces aircraft engines is located at Sunabeda in southwestern Odisha. Iron-ore deposits are worked at Bailadila in southern Chhattisgarh. Important towns are Jagdalpur, Bhawanipatna in south-central Chhattisgarh, and Koraput in southwestern Odisha.