Brahmasri Pidaparthi Purnayya Siddhanti garu (1910-2003)

Time is a precious commodity of human life and it is followed in many ways and is being used in many ways. The oldest practise among them is the Indian Time reckoning system and Panchangams (almanacs) are the main storage devises of the time. The time has significant role in timing the appropriate time for harvesting, ploughing, seeding etc which form the base of the life. If time has so much importance in human life then its calculators' or preparers' place is much more important. The strength, viability and accuracy of that time depend on them only. Obviously the result of an initiation of any work depends on the accuracy of that time calculated.

            Pidapartis' in the South India are well known and revered for their potential contribution in preparing the panchangams since time immemorial. They followed the profession from generations and names like Sri Shivarama Sastry Sri Chalamayya Sastry, Sri Peda Poornayya garu and Chinapoornayya garu resound till today after centuries also. At present the grand grand sons and their family members are engaged in that revered service and Sri Pidaparti Poornayya Garu was one among them in the recent past.

            Sri Poornayya garu, a versatile in Indian as well as western mathematics attained command on Sanskrit Grammar learnt from Vyakarana Shiromani Late Brahma Shree Garimella Anna Rao Sharma and trigonometry from Late Shri Pidaparti Venkat Somayajulu, Surya Siddhantam from the Late Sri Bharti Upadhyay, Mathematics (ganithadhyanam) from the late Sri Pidaparthi Srirama Siddhanti.

      Born to Shri Pidaparti Venkataraman Sharma, the grand son of Sri pidaparti peda poornayya garu in 1910 at Pulagurta of East Godavari District of Andhrapradesh, Sri Poornayya garu published the Panchang for nearly fourty years and was a crusader in uniting the Pidapartis who are in the mean time differed from each other and adopted various school of thoughts in calculating the panchangams.

      He was a strong believer of the potentiality of the Indian version of the planetary calculations and panchang making and stressed his followers to go in the path of Maharshis (especially the school of thought of Surya Sindhanta) which was strongly and dedicatedly followed by his ancestors.

      Sri Poornayya garu retired as a headmaster of high school at Ramachandrapuram where he lived in his own house till the last moment and received a number of awards, titles and honorariums in the arena of Indian astronomy and panchang making. He is a great disciple of Sringeri Jagadguru and his panchang calculation method and the panchang always received the blessings of the HH sri 108 Bharati Swamy of Sringeri.

      A crusader of social service and education, Sri Poornayya garu battled for the betterment of education and status of common man till the last minute and requested his heirs to follow the same path. To make his dreams of better education and preservation of Indian version of Time calculating knowledge and its allied parts like predictive astrology etc his sons founded a charitable education trust called "pidaparti poornayya vigyan trust". The name of Poornnayya is immortal in the annals of Pidapartis' as well as the history of the Panchang making in India.