புருஹூதிகா தேவி கோயில் (பீடாபுரம்)Puruhutika Devi Temple, Pithapuram

Sthala Mahātmyam

Puruhutika Devi at Pithapuram, invoked as 'Peethikayam Puruhutika', is the tenth Maha Shakti Peetha, enshrined within the Kukkuteswara Swamy temple in the old East Godavari country. Tradition holds that the seat (lower body/yoni) of Sati fell here. The goddess is a boon-granting form, worshipped facing south in the north-east corner of the complex; her name links her to Indra (Puruhuta). Shiva here is Kukkuteswara, a swayambhu linga said to resemble a rooster (kukkuta). Pithapuram is a great kshetra: it holds the Pada Gaya Sarovaram, one of the three Gayas prescribed for ancestral rites, and is renowned as a Datta-kshetra, the birthplace of Sri Sripada Srivallabha, the first incarnation of Dattatreya in Kali Yuga, with a rare shrine of Sri Dattatreya standing in the complex. Thus the Shaiva, Shakta, Datta and ancestral-rite traditions converge here. Chief festivals are Navaratri and Dasara, Sripada Srivallabha Jayanti, Maha Shivaratri and Datta Jayanti, celebrated with special abhishekams and processions.