and made donations in various forms. Four inscriptions of the temple recorded the donation of land, jewels, and villages by the kings of the Reddy dynasty, who did some substantial service to the temple. After the fall of the Eastern Gangas, the Gajapathis came into power. Nine inscriptions written in Odia language recorded the contributions by Gajapatis Kapilendradeva, Purushottama Deva and Prataprudra Deva. The temple received support from the Tuluva dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire. Their inscriptions range from 1516 to 1519 CE. During his military campaigns at the Kalinga region, Krishnadevaraya erected a Jayastambha (pillar of victory) at Simhachalam. He gifted ornaments to the deity for the merit of his parents. His wives Tirumala Devi and Chinnamma Devi also gifted ornaments. The Tuluva kings supported the perpetuation of the property of Simhachalam up to 16th century CE. After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Muslim states of Deccan asserted independence. The Qutb Shahi dynasty began its rule with Golkonda as their capital. A solitary inscription dated 1604 CE records gifting the lands and resources of Narava village as a sarvamanya by Sarvappa Asraraya with a view to restore the regular religious practices and offerings. Apart from mentioning the military achievements of Asraraya, the inscription confirmed 40 years of religious inactivity from 1564 to 1604 CE. In these 40 years, two inscriptions were found dated 1579 and 1597 CE; they registered the gifts donated to the temple. Apart from the above, 300 inscriptions in between the 11th and 18th centuries make a note of the contributions made by private individuals. The latest inscription of the temple is dated 1798 CE, which recorded a gift made by Chengalvaraya of the Gode family. In 1949, the temple came under the purview of the endowment ministry of the State Government. The members of the Pusapati Gajapathi family of the princely state of Vizianagaram are the current hereditary trustees of the temple. The members of the family are serving the temple for the last three centuries. The temple Geography The temple is situated on Simhachalam Hill Range above the sea level at a distance of ten miles to the north of Visakhapatnam. The hill range is a part of the Eastern Ghats and is named Kailasa. It is situated on the top of the northern side of the hill in an amphitheatre like structure. The height of the temple is nearly above the