double danda

English

Etymology

From double +‎ danda.

Noun

double danda (plural double dandas)

1. A punctuation mark (॥) used in many Indic scripts, denoting the end of a paragraph or verse of poetry.
   • 1971, Dineshchandra Sircar, Studies in the Religious Life of Ancient and Medieval India, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, →ISBN, page 140:

     The characters belong to the Siddhamātṛkā alphabet and may be assigned to the eighth century A.D. on grounds of palaeography. [...] The inscription begins with the siddham symbol and ends with a double daṇḍa.

   • 1995, Ajay Mitra Shastr, Inscriptions of the Śarabhapurīyas, Pāṇḍuvaṁśins, and Somavaṁśins: Introduction, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, →ISBN, page 43:

     Generally a single daṇḍa is found at the end of the first half and a double daṇḍa at the end of the second half of a verse as well as after an invocation. But instances of indiscriminate employment of the marks of punctuation are also too numerous to be enumerated exhaustively.

   • 2020, Lokanath Swami, Sanskrit Pronunciation: A Comprehensive Guide, Padayatra Press, →ISBN, page 121:

     In Sanskrit prose, the only punctuation marks are a single daṇḍa, used to mark the end of a sentence, and a double daṇḍa, used to mark the end of a paragraph.