He was born to Telugu Brahmin family in a village called Movva (or Muvva), Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh.
Sringara is a motif where the mundane sexual relationship between a Nayaki (woman) and a Nayaka (man) is used as a metaphor, denoting the yearning of jeeva (usually depicted as the Nayaki) to unite with the divine (usually depicted as the man).
In most of his compositions, Kshetrayya has used the mudra (signature) "Muvva Gopala" as a reference to himself, which is also a name for the Lord Krishna in Kshetrayya's village Muvva in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh State, now called as Movva.
Kshetrayya's work has played a major role in influencing poetry, dance, music of the South Indian tradition.
Kshetrayya was intimately connected with the devadasi women of the temples of south India, who were the subject of many of his compositions.