Sri Raghavendra swami was born as Venkatanatha in the town of Bhuvanagiri, Tamil Nadu into a Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family of musicians and scholars.His great-grandfather Krishnabhatta was a tutor to Vijayanagara king Krishnadeva Raya, his grandfather was Kanakacalabhatta and his father Thimanna Bhatta was an accomplished scholar and musician. After the fall of Vijayanagara empire, Timmanacharya migrated to Kanchi with his wife Gopikamba. Venkatanatha had two siblings: Gururaja and Venkatamba. Venkatanatha's education was undertaken by his brother-in-law Lakshminarasimhacharya at Madurai, after the early demise of his father, and he was subsequently married.

According to Raghavendra Vijaya, his triumph in debates at Thanjavur attracted the attention of Sudhindra Tirtha, the erstwhile pontiff of Kumbakonam mutt. Though initially uncertain about the prospect of renunciation, Venkatanatha relented to Sri Sudhindra Swamy's demands and was ordained as a monk in 1621. After the death of Sri Sudhindra Tirtha in 1623, Venkatanatha succeeded him as the pontiff of the mutt and took on the name Sri Raghavendra Tirtha. He undertook a pilgrimage visiting places including Udupi, Kolhapur and Bijapur.He received grants from Dodda Kempadevaraja and settled down in the village of Mantralayam, which was presented to him by the Governor of Adoni. He died in 1671 and his mortal remains are enshrined in Mantralayam. Traditional accounts report that Sri Raghavendra swamy asked his tomb (Brindavana) to be built around him as he entered into a state of samadhi. He was succeeded by his disciple Yogeendra Tirtha.In 1801, while serving as the Collector of Bellary, Thomas Munro is believed to have come across an apparition of Sri Raghavendra swamy.  Source : Wikipedia

Trasnport

By Road: Regular bus service is available from all the major South Indian cities such as Bangalore, Mysore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Tirupati, and Bellary.
By Train: The Mantralayam Road is the nearest railway station to the Raghavendra Swamy Temple. It is about 12 kilometers from Mantralaya. It lies on the railway route of Mumbai-Chennai, Delhi-Bangalore, and Hyderabad-Tirupati. It takes about an hour to reach the Mantralayam Temple from the railway station. Private Cabs, Auto Rickshaws, Vans, and Buses are available at the railway station, which can take you directly to the shrine.
By Air: The Hyderabad Airport is nearest to the temple at a distance of 236 kilometers from Mantralayam. Once you disembark the flight, you can rent cabs for reaching the temple.