The Buddha idol and the temple in Paradip. Telegraph pictures

Paradip, Oct. 5: Call it mistaken identity or a show of religious amity, local residents continue to worship Buddhist divinity in a 300-year-old Hindu temple on the outskirts of Paradip port town.

“It’s either a case of mistaken identity or amalgamation of Buddhist divinities into Hinduism,” say eminent archaeological researcher, Bijoy Kumar Rath.

“The Loknath temple in Paradipgada near the port town was built in the 18th Century. It’s a famous Shaivite centre where Lord Shiva is worshipped. But the temple’s claim to fame rests in the fact that the deity worshipped here is a Buddhist divinity. Sculptor of Bodhisatva under the mistaken identity of Lord Shiva is installed here since inception of the temple,” remarked Rath, the former director of state archaeology department.

“For us, both the divinities are same. As Lord Loknath ensures our well-being, we do not find differences in it,” remarked Bonoy Kumar Roy, a resident of Paradipgada.

“The idol has the features of Lord Shiva. We are worshipping the lord since time immemorial,” said Narayan Mishra, priest of the temple.

The State Archaeology Department has established that the deity in the sanctum sanctorum of Loknath temple as that of Buddhist divinity, archaeologist Rath said.

The temple is built in a Buddhist chaitya like structure. Its rear is semi-circular. The Boddhisatva idol worshipped here dates back to the 9th Century AD when Somavamshi dynasty ruled the then Kalingan Empire.

Buddhism flourished under Bhaumakaras and Somvamshis during the 7th to 9th Century AD. With disintegration of these dynasties, Buddhism declined, the researcher noted.

Hindus never consider Buddhist divinities and culture as alien. This is why Buddha idols and other Buddhist divinities are revered in many Hindu temples in Jagatsinghpur district.