The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.113

v2.c17.113

8. *Damana bhañjikā Yātrā*. This is a local feast and its counterpart is unknown out of Orissa. At puri on this occasion Janannātha goes out to steal some thyme (Sanskrit *damana*, vernacular *donā*) from a neighbour's garden. The day appropriate for it is the 14th of the waxing moon in caitra. The proxy of Bhuvaneśvara is not represented as quite so nefariously inclined; but he observes the sanctity of the day by going to a platform in front of the temple of Tīrtheśvara, to the east of the Vindu Sāgara tank, where he takes his seat amidst general rejoicing, and receives presents of ornaments made of thyme sprigs. The thyme is cultivated everywhere in Orissa, and is met with in a wild state in the purgannas of Khurdā.