Pithapuram, historically known as Pittapore, is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Kakinada district Kakinada district is a district in the Coastal Andhra Region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. With Kakinada as its administrative headquarters, it was proposed on 26 January 2022 to become one of the resultant twenty six districts in the ...

in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. The town also forms a part of

Godavari Urban Development Authority The Godavari Urban Development Authority (GUDA) is an urban planning agency spread over the district of East Godavari in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was constituted on 4 November 2016, under ''Andhra Pradesh Metropolitan Region and Ur ...

. The town is home to one of the eighteen Maha Sakthi Peethas, which are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in

Shaktism Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti ( Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, al ...

. Sripada Sri Vallabha, a prominent Hindu saint of 14th century was born and lived in Pithapuram. He is considered by his devotees as one of the first complete

avatars Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

(incarnations) of the deity Dattatreya in Kali Yuga.

History

Pithapuram was originally called Pithikapuram. The earliest extant inscription to mention the city is the fourth century king

Samudragupta Samudragupta (Gupta script: ''Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta'', (c. 335–375 CE) was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India, and is regarded among the greatest rulers of the dynasty. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the ...

's Allahabad Pillar inscription, which states that he defeated the king Mahendra of Pithikapuram. The inscriptions of the fourth and fifth century

Vasishtha Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha a ...

and Mathara dynasties also mention Pishtapura, describing it as a part of

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

. In the seventh century, the

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty ...

king Pulakeshin II annexed Pishtapura to his kingdom. Later, Pithapuram was one of the Rastras, an administrative division, of the Vengi Chalukyas. One of the collateral branches of Chalukyas called Pithapuram Chalukyas, ruled the area around Rajahmundry, Pithapuram and Draksharama in the 12th and 13th centuries. The town hosts temple of Puruhitika devi. It is one among 18 Sakthi Peethas.

Geography

Pithapuram is located at . It has an average elevation of . It is located near several beaches though not one in particular. It is in between 2 major cities;

Kakinada Kakinada ( formerly called Kakinandiwada, Coringa, and Cocanada; ) is the sixth largest city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the district headquarters of the Kakinada District. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. J. ...

and

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

. Pithapuram is landlocked and most of its economic activity takes place in Kakinada. Pithapuram is also well known for the C.B.M. Christian Medical Centre which was started by missionary doctor Dr. E. Smith.

Demographics

Census of India, the town had a population of . The total population constitutes males, females and children, in the age group of 0–6 years. The average literacy rate stands at 75.00% with literates, higher than the national average of 73.00%.

Transport

Pithapuram town is situated on NH 216. Pithapuram railway station is located on Duvvada-Vijayawada section of Howrah-Chennai main line.

Rajahmundry Airport Rajahmundry Airport is a domestic airport located at Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located on National Highway 516E. During 1985–1994, it was used by Vayudoot. It is heavily used by the helicopters of Oil and Natural Gas Corpo ...

is located from Pithapuram.

Notable residents

* Devulapalli Krishnasastry

References

{{Authority control * Cities and towns in Kakinada district Ancient Indian cities Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India Archaeological sites in Andhra Pradesh Hindu holy cities Former capital cities in India