Kukkuteswara Temple

The Kukkuteswara Temple stands in the ancient town of Pithapuram in Andhra, called Pishtapura in the Gupta emperor Samudragupta's pillar inscription of about 350. Dedicated to Shiva as Kukkuteswara, the Lord of the Rooster, it houses a self-manifested crystal linga and a Nandi carved from a single stone.

Its enclosure also contains the shrine of Puruhutika Devi, among the eighteen Maha Shakta Pithas, so the complex is revered in both the Saivite and the Shakta traditions. The Skanda Purana praises Pithapuram as a holy place, and in the fourteenth century it was the birthplace of the saint Sripada Sri Vallabha.

After the rule of the Velanati Chodas and local Pitapuram Chalukyas in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the town passed under the Reddi kings and later Muslim rulers. The temple remained a pilgrimage goal, drawing crowds for Maha Shivaratri and Navaratri.