Kukkuteswara Swamy Temple, Sri Puruhutika Devi Temple - Padagaya Kshetram

Andhra Pradesh , East Godavari, Hyderabad

In the East Godavari belt of Andhra Pradesh, stands an ancient temple of Lord Shiva, the Kukkuteshwara Swamy temple. It is one of the three Gayas, the Padagaya, where rituals for the departed ancestors is done. The devotees believe that conduct of such rituals would give their should liberation or moksha. Here, the Lord is worshipped as the cock. The temple has the shrine of Puruhitika devi, considered to be one of the Shaktipeetha. Lord Indira is believed to have worshipped the Devi here. Jagadguru Sripada, is also described as having worshipped Puruhitika Devi.

Legend

The legend of the temple is associated with the cursing of the demon Gayasura. The demon who was a devotee of Lord Vishnu accepted the Trimuthi's request of conducting a yagna on his body. The demon lay down still, his body extending from Gaya to Pithapuram, for 6 days, but on the seventh day, Lord Shiva tricked him with the crowing of the cock to believe that the yagna had finished. The yagna got disturbed and the demon's body parts fell in different places. The site where his feet fell is the Padagaya Kshetra or Kukutesrara Swamy temple. The Puruhithika Shakthipeetham here is described as the place where Devi's lower back had fallen.

This temple is part of famous Shaktipeethas.

Architecture

The temple is built in Dravidian style with goupram and the vimana above the sanctum adorned with sculptures. The temple is vast and spacious. Near the temple pond there is a huge statue of Gyasura in the lying pose with the Trimurthis which depicts the legend of the temple. The Puruhutika Devi shrine had carvings of Ashtadesa Shaktipeeths on its walls. The idol of devi has four hands. There are shrines of Vinayaka, Subrahmanya Swamny, Kalabhaoirava, Annapoorneshwari, Sri Rama, etc around the temple. The Lingam of Shiva is swayambhu ad in the form of a cock. There is a huge Nandi statue. Dattatreya temple is also inside the premise. An imprint of Vishnu's footprints can be seen in the temple.

Darsan Info

Padagaya Kshetram is open from 5:30 AM till 12:30 PM and 4:30PM til 7:30 PM.The place is considered holy for 'Pind dan' or 'Shradha', the rituals for the departed

Darsan Dresscode

Devotees are advised to wear clean and conservative attire

Famous Festival

March - Shivratri

September - Pitripaksha mela (Sept/Oct)

October - Navarathri

December - Karthika deep

Culture

Pithapuram is famous for its ancient temples. Pithapuram is one of the twelve holy pilgrim centres(punya kshetram) and is considered equivalent to Kasi.