Sonepur: A team of researchers and monks visited the Lankeswari temple gorge on Saturday to research on the birthplace, life and philosophy surrounding Padmasambhava, who is regarded as the second Buddha.

The four-member team from Bhutan's department of culture, after studying the rock inscriptions at the site and interacting with historians and resident, almost concluded that Padmasambhava was born in Sonepur.

Padmasambhava was the adopted son of Indrabhuti, the king of Sambala (present Sambalpur), who is credited as the founder of Vajrajana, a Buddhist sect.

Former Utkal University of Culture vice-chancellor Narendra Kumar Mishra had asked the team to travel to Sonepur. The team visited the rocky outcrop of the Lankeswari gorge and documented the rock inscriptions in the Praktiti Pali script. They also photographed other findings such as a rock inscriptions of the lotus flower and the triangular Bhubaneswari yantra that is special to Buddhists.

Ven Tashi Norbu, the accompanying monk, said the findings in Sonepur were very vital as far as the birthplace of Padmasambhava was concerned.

"We were not satisfied at all with what we had found in other parts of Odisha. But I can say Sonepur might just be the place where Padmasambhava was born. More research is needed to arrive at a conclusion," he said.

Dasho Gyonpo Tshering, the senior researcher in the team, said they were extremely satisfied with the findings in Sonepur.

"Indrabhuti has been described by historians as sitting in meditation inside the caves in Trikuta hills in Kotsomalai in Sonepur where Lord Jagannath was kept hidden for 144 years. He used to worship Lord Jagannath as Buddha. A trip to the caves of Trikuta hills will throw more lights on the research," he said.

Benudhar Pradhan, a young researcher, said every year, many Tibetan lamas visit the place and perform Buddhist rituals.