Sripada Subrahmanya Sastry, born in a family of Sanskrit scholars, chose to write in Telugu against his father's wishes. Although his short stories were more popular, he had also written plays, novellas and essays. He was the founding editor of the fortnightly Prabuddhandhra. His writings focussed on the social problems of his day. Though influenced by Kandukuri Veeresalingam, he did not desist from criticizing the great social reformer for his overzealous role in widow remarriage.