DAMARAS.
Kashmiri
landowners of the 10th century who were in the position of feudal local
magnates wielding considerable military clout. They were used by the rulers to
control the Tantrin soldiery, who had become very powerful after the deposition
of Queen Sugandha n 914.
DAKKANI.
A form of
Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu) carrying the traces of
North Indian
dialects like Punjabi, Khari-boli, and Braj. It developed in the urban centers
of the Deccan
controlled by the Bahmanis and
successor sultanates. Most of the surviving Dakkani texts are written in
Persian script. The earliest of them, M‘araj al-‘ashiqin (Ascent
to Heaven of Devotees), is ascribed to Saiyid Muhammad Gesudaraz
(d.1422).
