Kukkuteshvara, Pithapuram

The Mahashakti Pitha at Pithapuram in Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, counted among the eighteen Maha Shakta Pithas as the site where Sati's hip fell. The goddess Kukkuteshvari (also Puruhutika Devi) shares the Pada Gaya temple complex with Dattatreya's second avatar Shri Pada Vallabha (c.1320) — the goddess seat and the Dattatreya shrine stand in one courtyard. Pithapuram is one of the three Dattatreya pilgrimage centres of Andhra alongside Mahur and Ganagapur. The temple's Chalukya-period foundation and Shri Pada Vallabha association make it a dual Shakta-and-Dattatreya centre with continuous pilgrimage.