Puroshottam Choudhary (5 September 1803 – 24 August 1890) also spelled Purushottama Chaudhary or Purushothama Choudhari was a great 19th century Telugu Christian poet. He was a Christian preacher, evangelist, and pastor of the Berhampur Church, founded by Isaac Stubbins in 1838.

He was also a poet, pamphleteer, and one of the first Christian vaggeyakaras (composers) - contributing immensely to "Bhakti tradition" in Telugu Christianity and to Christology in India.

Choudhary was born on 5 September 1803 to Bengali parents Kurmanatha Chowdhari and Subhadhra at Madanpur in Ganjam district, Orissa - with predominant Oriya and Telugu-speaking people and their neighbouring lands – Ganjam district is located on the border of Telugu-speaking districts of present-day Andhra Pradesh - namely, Chicacole (present Srikakulam) and Vizagapatam (present Visakhapatnam). While in Orissa, he was married to his cousin, Radhamani Devi. They had two sons and three daughters.

Purushottam Choudhary came from an orthodox Bengal Brahmin family, whose ancestors migrated to present Andhra-Orissa (Odisha) region in the 1700s because of political unrest in Bengal state in those days.

By 1825, it appears, he was introduced to Christian literature, when his brother Jagannadha Chowdhari procured him religious tracts written by probably by William Carey, one of the Serampore Trio. Influenced by the tracts, he obtained more tracts from neighbouring villages and decided to learn more about Christianity. He even went to Vizagapatnam (also known as Vizag) and met Roman Catholic priest and tried to meet Rev James Dawson of London Missionary Society, already operating over there. Later he was influenced by Christian officers like Capt. Knott, General Adjutant Evalin, and Major Brett from East India Company - While working as a tutor in Parlakimedi. He was directed to Helen Knott, who gave Gospel of Luke and two tracts. In May 1833, he went to Vizagapatnam to meet missionaries, then-overseen by Major Brett. Here, he had written his own tract on Indian caste in Telugu, published later by Tract society of Madras, while, Brett had plans to send him to Madras by sea, Helen Knott having got positive message from Baptist Missionary Society from Cuttack, he was finally sent to Cuttack. Eventually, he was baptised on 6 October 1833 into Christian faith by Charles Lacey, an English General Baptist missionary to Cuttack, Orissa; Charles Lacey came to Orissa in 1823 for evangelical activities, after William Bampton and James Peggs arrived Orissa in 1822.

Initially in 1834, he worked as an assistant missionary under Major Brett of London Missionary Society at Madras; accordingly, he made numerous trips to Oriya speaking districts and Telugu speaking districts of then-Madras Presidency, including regions of Andhra and Bellary of present Karnataka, to preach the "Word of God,"(gospel) and to distribute Christian literature, including the evangelical literature written by him. After he was baptised, while in Vizagapatnam, he preached gospel over there, and surrounding villages. About this time, he wrote his first lyric I sought the refuge of our Jesus Christ. Though his relatives and villagers outcast him for renouncing his native faith, he kept on preaching gospel in Vizagapatnam, Chicacole, Madras, Bellary, including his native place near Parlakimedi and surrounding villages.

Soon his wife joined him at Chicacole, and was ordained on 24 April 1835 by the Baptist missionaries at the Baptist conference in Cuttack under supervision of Amos Sutton, impressed by his sincere work in the ministry; later, he was sent to work exclusively among Telugu people as an assistant to Samuel S. Day, a Canadian-born American Baptist missionary to Telugus in Srikakulum, Visakhapatnam, Bellary, Nellore, and most of Madras Presidency provinces; and founder of Telugu Baptist mission at Nellore. After he worked as an evangelist for a while, he was appointed as pastor at the Church in Berhampur, also known as Silk City, in Ganjam district.

In 1836, his wife Radhamani became a Christian. The same year he was invited by the judge at Chicacole to preach gospel there. He worked closely with Rev William Dawson of London Missionary Society (an accomplished hymn writer in Telugu). In 1838, he was invited to Berhampore, where he spent seven years by preaching and touring all Ganjam district neighbourhoods. In 1844, he went to Chicacole station under London Missionary Society and preached gospel there for another six years till 1850. In 1851, after he lost his wife, he was transferred again to Vizagapatnam; over there, he helped the missionaries in Bible translation and continued his gospel preaching. In 1861, he toured several Telugu-speaking areas for gospel preaching, namely, Anakapalli, Yellamanchili, Tuni, Pithapur, Samalkot, Peddapuram, Cocanada (present Kakinada), and several other Andhra regions. In 1862, he was recruited to preach evangelistic work at Chittivasala, near Bimlipatnam, and on Sunday evenings to preach at Polepalli. During these course, several of his family members were baptised.