 According to tradition, Tirumalarya was a descendant of Kirangooru Anantaraya, an "acharya" (teacher) nominated by the 11th century philosopher Ramanujacharya.Among well known scholars, Tirumalarya (son of the earlier Tirumalarya in the court of Raja Wodeyar), a native of Srirangapatna and a childhood friend of the king, was the court poet.He was also a minister in the court of the Queen of Madurai.