 Their family belonged to the noted Odia Kāyastha/Karaṇa community.Rāmānanda Rāya had four brothers named Gopīnātha Paṭṭanāyaka, Kalānidhi, Sudhānidhi, and Vāṇīnātha Nāyaka.He served as a government officer under Emperor Prataparudra Deva, who reigned the Gajapati Kingdom from 1497 to 1540 CE, and his main office was being the Viceroy or governor of Rajamahendri  (present day Rajamahendravaram of Andhra Pradesh) on the bank of the Godavari river.