Pitapuram,one of the 3 Shakti Peethams in the state along with Srisailam and Draksharama, and also known as Dakshina Gaya. Home to Sripada Sri Vallabha, who is considered an avatar of Dattatreya.
It’s ancient name was Pithikapuram, and is one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peethams, the places where Sati's body parts fell, after her corpse was cut into pieces by Sudarshana Chakra. Her left hand is believed to have fallen here, and she is worshipped as Purohitika Devi.It was mentioned in Samudragupta's inscription at Prayag Raj as Pishtapura, one of 12 the kingdoms of Dakshinapatha whom he had conquered, along with Vengi, Kanchi,Kurala.
Puruhutika Devi is the main deity in Pithapuram, shown with 4 hands, one holding a kalasa containing Amrit, another holding the Madi Phala,while the rear hands hold a shield and an axe.
Apart from being a Mahashakti Peetham, Pithapuram is also significant as one of the Trigaya Kshetrams, the other two being Bodh Gaya in Bihar and Biraja Temple at Jajpur in Odisha. This is called as Padha Gaya Kshetram.
As per the Sthala Purana, there was an Asura ruler Gayasura, who was a devotee of Vishnu. He did penance to Vishnu and asked for a boon by which his body would manifest itself with all the divinity of the Punya Kshetras. And his body became as holy, with none of the sins able to touch him, even the small beings that died on his body, achieved Moksha, due to the divine presence. By the power of the divinity manifested in him, his good deeds and the Yagnas he did, Gayasura acquired the throne of Indra, who did penance to Brahma, to get back the position he lost.
Brahma told him that he was planning to conduct a great Yagna, for which he needed the holiest place ever. Gayasura being a giant of a personality, offered his own body to conduct the Yagna on. So huge was his body that on stretching, his head rested in Bodh Gaya, while his feet rested in Pithapuram. The Yagna on his body would last for 7 days, during which he would not be getting up.
However when the Devas requested Shiva to disturb the Yagna, to ensure Gayasura does not become too powerful, he took the form of a cock, and crowed at an early hour on the 7th day, just before the Yagna was to end. Thinking it was morning, and the end of the Yagna, Gayasura got up before it was over, thus disturbing it. However he got a boon from Vishnu, Brahma that due to his devotion, the 3 parts of his body, would become Punya Kshetras.
Those 3 parts are what are called Tri Gaya Kshetras, the head or Siro Gaya at Bodh Gaya, the middle part or Nabhi Gaya at Biraja Temple, Jajpur, Odisha and the feet at Pithapuram, which is the reason why it's also called as Pada Gaya Kshetram.
Since Shiva appeared in the form of a cock at Pithapuram, he is worshipped here as Kukkuteswara Swamy, and this temple is right opposite to the Puruhitika Devi temple.
The Kukkuteswara Swamy temple faces north, and as soon as one enters it, there is a large tank called the Pada Gaya Sarovar, and it's believed taking a dip here is equivalent to that of taking in Ganga. And near the Dhwaja Stambha are large imprints of Gayasura.
The complex has shrines for Chandeeshwara Swamy, Kala Bhairava who is the Kshetra Palaka here, Sri Subramanya Swamy, Siddhi Ganapati and Shri Dattatreya. There is an old banyan tree in the temple complex called Audumbara Vriksha, and it's believed anyone touching those would be blessed with good fortune. The main temple of Kukkuteswara is located in the center. The temple also has a large Nandi carved out of a single rock, as well as a shrine dedicated to Shri Raja Rajeshwari Devi, the consort of Kukkuteswara Swamy here.
The Kunti Madhava temple at Pithapuram is one of the Pancha Madhava Kshetras, believed to have been built by Indra to atone for the killing of Vritasura. The other 4 are Bindu Madhava(Kashi), Veni Madhav(Prayag Raj), Sethu Madhava(Rameswaram) ,Sundara Madhava(Thiruvananthapuram).
Among the Trigaya Kshetrams, Vishnu is worshipped at Bodh Gaya as Gadadhara, while Brahma is worshipped in form of Biraja Devi at Jajpur and Shiva as Kukkuteshwara at Pitapuram, as per Gayasura's wish. This is the reason why these three Gaya Kshetrams are considered auspicious to do Pinda Pradhana and Shraddha Karmas for the departed souls of our ancestors.
Pithapuram is also home to Sripada Srivallabha Swamy who is believed to be an avatar of Dattatreya himself. His home is now a temple, and it's the only place in India, which has a swayambhu murthy of Dattatreya.
Apart from the temples, Pithapuram was one of the well known Samsthanams in Coastal Andhra, of whom Surya Rao Bahadur, was quite prominent as a patron of arts and literature. is located right on the Chennai-Howrah line by rail, if you are travelling by road, you can take a detour from the National Highway towards Kakinada, either from Rajahmundry or Vizag.
If you are visiting Annavaram, you could include Pithapuram too in your trip, as it's located close by. The temples, the Shakti Peetam,the lush green paddy fields nearby make it worth a visit.