What is "dandakaranya"

Dandakaranya is a spiritually significant region in India. It is roughly equivalent to the Bastar division in the Chhattisgarh state in the central-east part of India. It covers about of land, which includes the Abujhmar Hills in the west and the Eastern Ghats in the east, including parts of the Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra,and Andhra Pradesh states. It spans about from north to south and about from east to west. Dandakaranya roughly translates from Sanskrit to "The Jungle (aranya) of Punishment (dandakas").