Pithapuram

Pithapuram, the ancient Pishtapura, is a place of pilgrimage as well as an old seat of kings. The Kukkuteswara temple complex includes a shrine to Puruhutika Devi, revered as one of the great Shakti pithas. Pithapuram was the birthplace of the fourteenth-century saint Sripada Sri Vallabha. Long before his time, the Eastern Chalukyas had made it their first capital before moving their court to Vengi.

The family that became the zamindars of Pithapuram arrived in the Godavari country in 1571 and received the jagir of Anaparthi. They served as military leaders at Rajamahendravaram, commanding troops. In 1749 Rustum Khan, a general of the Nizam of Hyderabad, granted them a sanad confirming their zamindari. They entered a permanent revenue settlement with the British in 1802.