The goddess’s idol at the sanctum sanctorum. Telegraph pictures

Balasore, Aug. 26: A century-old temple that houses unique and rare idols at Ayodhya, about 25km from the district headquarters, is bearing the brunt of government neglect.

The temple, locally known as Marici, is generally believed to be a Hindu shrine, whereas researchers claim that the deities worshipped here are Buddhist.

In Mahayan and Vajrayan Buddhism, Marici is considered a deva or Bodhisattva associated with light and the Sun.

Besides Marici, other tantric goddesses at the sanctum sanctorum include — Vajrapani-Manjushree, Chintamani Lokesvara or Avalokitesvara and Varahmukhi. These idols at the sanctum sactorum are worshipped as Hindu deities by local residents.

Near the entrance to the temple is a small image of Lord Buddha in bhumisparsha mudra.

“Ayodhya had been a confluence of Buddhism and Jainism besides Hinduism. But a large number of Buddhist establishments had come up here between 10th and 11th centuries. It was a flourishing centre of Buddhism with Marici and Tara as the presiding deities,” said Anaga Mohapatra, a researcher.

Goddess Marici has three faces, one of which (the right one) is that of a pig. She has eight hands in a tribhanga standing mudra on a chariot driven by seven wild pigs. The idol is 3ft and six inches tall carved on a monolithic chloride or granite stone with a popular Buddhist inscription (dharani) in the extreme top left side — ye dharma hetu prabhava — in characters ascribed to the late 10th century.

Though Ayodhya and particularly the Marici temple, which was built in 19th century by Bhanu Khuntia – a local chieftan, have several unique features, the temple remains neglected.

Ajay Khuntia, a descendent of the Khuntia family, said: “The temple, despite bearing several unique features, never received any kind of support from either the culture department or any other government agencies. A committee looks after the temple affairs and it struggles to maintain even expenses for its white-washing.”

Ayodhya has been included in the list of tourist sites of Balasore, but hardly anything has been done for its promotion. Baman Chandra Nayak, president of the temple development committee, said, “There is no good road to the village from Balasore. Besides, the temple lacks infrastructure to accommodate tourists. Even the culture department doesn’t extend any financial support to the temple though it has a museum by the side of the shrine.”

District culture officer Ananta Sethi said: “The temple is yet to be included under the state archaeological department just like many other important monuments of the state. We have a museum showcasing the remains of century-old idols and works. It is looked after by a watchman only.”

Tourism officer Biswajit Routray said: “Though the place is included in the tourist map of the district, it couldn’t be developed due to paucity of funds.”