English: *Pushpagiri, now a village in Kadapa district Andhra Pradesh, was in its history a major city, religious and education center near the banks of river Pennar (Pinakini in Sanskrit texts). The earliest inscriptions found here date from the 4th-century CE, but texts dated to pre-2nd century BCE mention it as an important center for monasteries. Pushpagiri and nearby locations were one of the focal points of an important economic and populated region through the 16th-century. It is one of the places where Adi Sankara is reputed to have visited and supported an Advaita Matha (monastery for Advaita Vedanta studies). Many major Hindu and Jain temples were built in and near Pushpagiri, and it came to be known as the second Hampi.

• The village of Pushpagiri in Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh is about 20 kilometers northwest of Kadapa city, Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the important religious center in a valley region to the west of Nallamala hills of Eastern ghats are naturally protected by a hilly terrain and gifted with several significant rivers. The Mauryas, Vishnukundins, Pallavas, Chalukyas of Badami, Cholas, Rashtrakutas, Kakatiyas and Vijaynagara dynasties helped build, expand and renovate major temples and infrastructure in Pushpagiri and nearby region. Many of these temples and monasteries were damaged or destroyed during the Deccan wars of expansion by Deccan Sultanates. Ruins were re-discovered by British colonial era archaeologists and historians, with sections restored in the recent decades.

Temples complex:

• The 10th to 13th century Trikutesvara Temples complex is located in Pushpagiri village on the west bank of the Pennar river, across from the Chennakesava temples group.
• The temples complex consists of three major separate shrines within the same walled compound: the Trikutesvara temple with three sanctums and shared mandapa, the Kamakshi Vaidyanatha temple attached to the Advaita matha and the Bhimesvara temple. There is a fourth shrine that is empty, likely incomplete.
• The inscriptions found in this temples are from the 13th century, and of the Yadava-Seuna dynasty (Singhanadeva). However, some iconography and architectural elements in parts of the temple suggest that portions of the Kamakshi Vaidyanatha temple and the attached Advaita studies monastery existed in the 10th-century. The Vijayanagara Empire expanded this temple, given its support and reverence for the Advaita Vedanta philosophy and monasteries.
• The Trikutesvara shrine was completed in 1255 CE, according to one of the inscriptions found in its mandapa. The sponsors were three: a woman named Kamaladevi, who identifies herself as the wife of Gandapendara Sahani Kayasth; another woman named Hachalamba, the daughter of king Allugi who sponsored the second sanctum; and the Pallava king Khanderaya sponsored the third shrine. Thus, Pushpagiri brought together the collaboration of three wealthy patrons, thereby affirming its socio-religious significance to Hindus of different parts of South India.
• The Bhimesvara temple and the empty shrine is probably of a later century, possibly 15th, and built during the Vijayanagara Empire era.
• The temples complex is enclosed and surrounded by prakara (compound walls), with a main dvitala gopura for entrance. Past it is the balipitha and dhvaja-stambha.
• The Kamakshi Vaidyanatha temple faces west, and consists of a garbhagriya, antarala and mukhya-mandapa. The temple is dedicated to Devi (goddess), like other Advaita Vedanta monastery temples. The mandapa is a square with each side of 6.92 meters. The sanctum is also a square of 3.45 meters side.
• The Trikutesvara temple has shared sabha-mandapa, also a square with 8.67 meters side and 16 pillars. These are beautifully carved with images of Nataraja, Ganapati, Umamahesvara, Dakshinamurti, Kiratarjuna and other Shaiva themes. The sabha-mandapa connects to the mukhya-mandapa, also a square of 8.52 meters side. Each sanctum is also a square plan, all about 4.5 meters each side.
• The Bhimesvara temple faces east, and consists of garbhagriya, antarala and mukhyamandapa. The square plan dominates the design principle of the mandapa and the sanctum.
• The temples complex has many defaced and damaged reliefs and statues, some from this complex and others from nearby destroyed Hindu and Jain temples of Pushpagiri. The defacement generally consists of chopped head, nose, face, limbs and sexual organs. These are now presented along the walls of mandapa halls, in the form of a museum. In late 2010s, the temples has attracted restoration effort.
• The temples complex continues to be a Hindu pilgrimage site, attracting numerous pilgrims on Shivaratri and Vaikuntha Ekadasi.