The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.s1.332

v2.c17.s1.332

The most salient points of similitude are the month of the ceremony, the form of the car, the four pavilions, the style of its decoration, the three images, the adoration by the king, the duration of the festival and the welcome on return. The dates are different; the Khotan date is the 1st, the Patna date the 8th, and the Puri date, now recognised all over India, the 2nd; but dependent as Hindu ceremonial dates are on astronomico-astrological calculations, the difference is perfectly immaterial. Many dates of unquestionably ancient Hindu rites have of late similarly changed without any alteration in the rituals. The number of cars in the Buddhist instances was single, and the three images were put in the same car, whereas at Puri there are three cars. This, however, is also immaterial as in the present day all over India, except at Puri, a single car is the rule and three the exception. Apparently the enormous size of the images at Puri suggested the necessity of three cars. The wheels in different parts of Bengal vary from 4 to 32, and the 16, though enjoined in the *Puruṣottama Māhātmya*, are not held to be essential. The differences in the minor details are likewise immaterial as they are obviously due to local circumstances which affect ceremonials in every part of the world. Even in the Vedic days, the followers of the different Śākhās could not agree to follow implicitly the same rules and tribal differences were recognised without in any way changing the character of the rituals.