Pantulu was born in a Telugu-speaking Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family[8][9][10] in Nellore on 14 January 1856, but later moved to Rajahmundry.

His father Veera Raghava Rao worked in the Customs Department (Salt Branch) in the Madras Government.

After passing the Matriculation examination, he joined the Christian College at Madras and obtained his B.A degree in 1876.

Pantulu was elected as the General Secretary of the Indian National Congress in 1914 and remained in that position till 1917.

This resulted in the formation of the Andhra Congress Council on 22 January 1918 with Pantulu as its first President and Konda Venkatappayya as its Secretary.

In a tribute which appeared in The Hindu in January 1941, Pantulu was hailed as "a man of magnificent vitality" and "a promoter of 'liberal Hinduism'".