Pithapuram, historically known as Pittapore, is a

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

and a

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

in the Kakinada district 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-indep ...

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 t ...

. The town also forms a part of Godavari Urban Development Authority. The town is home to one of the eighteen Maha Sakthi Peethas, which are significant

shrines A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

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, all ...

. 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 (incarnations) of the deity Dattatreya in

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which ...

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

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 Raj ...

. 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 decennial Census of India has been conducted 16 times, as of 2021. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881. Post 1949, it has been conducted by ...

, 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 National Highway 153 (NH 153), formerly NH-216, is a national highway in India. It is a spur road of National Highway 53. NH-153 traverses the state of Chhattisgarh in India. Route NH-53 at Saraipali, Sarangarh, NH-49 at Raigarh. Juncti ...

. Pithapuram railway station is located on Duvvada-Vijayawada section of Howrah-Chennai main line. Rajahmundry Airport 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