Sri Adi Sankara was born on January 22, 1870, under the nakshatra Hastham. According to Hindu mythology, his parents Varadaraja Sastrigal and Maragatham prayed for a male child to continue their family lineage, and Mother Kamakshi appeared in Sastrigal's dream instructing them to offer butter for the birth of a wise child. The signs of greatness were evident in the child from a young age, with Swamigal having spontaneous trances and displaying an interest in spiritual practices and worship.
At age four, Seshadri received the nickname "Golden Hand" after being gifted a statue of Krishna by a trader who attributed the sale of 1,000 statues in one day to the young boy's touch. His father died when he was 14, and he completed his education in Vazhur before his mother's death when he was 17. On her deathbed, Maragatham advised him to go to Arunachala/Tiruvannamalai for spiritual enlightenment, and Seshadri sought refuge in divine grace, gravitating towards spirituality and intense pooja and tapas.
Sri Adi Sankara became a devotee of the goddess Kamakshi and established specific methods of worship for her. He brought a group of 30 devotees and their families from the Narmada region to Kanchipuram to ensure that these methods of worship were followed properly. These devotees, known as the "Kaamakotiyaar," were responsible for spreading Srividya Upaasana and all belonged to the lineage of Kamakshi devotees.
Seshadri Swamigal was brought back home by his uncle and aunt on the day of his father's annual death ceremony and locked him in a room while the ceremony was going on. When the room was opened, he was found missing. He then went to Kaveripakkam and meditated at the Navaratri Mandapam of Sri Mukteshwarar temple. His relatives tried to persuade him to return home but he was too detached from the worldly life. He took a vow of silence and was known as "Mouna Swamigal". He reached Thindivanam and requested a room in the Sri Thinthirineeswarar temple to be locked from the outside and opened after four months. He left Thindivanam after a few days. He went through towns that housed his relatives without visiting them to renounce them formally. He finally reached Tiruvannamalai via Thurinjikuppam and stayed there for the rest of his life.
Vallimalai Swamigal was a devotee of Tiruppugazh, a collection of devotional songs written by the Tamil poet-saint Arunagirinathar. He was a disciple of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi and played a significant role in spreading the beauty of Tiruppugazh.
According to the story, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi ordered Vallimalai Swamigal to go down to the foot of the Arunachala hill, which he complied with. At the foot of the hill, Sri Seshadri Swamigal, who was absorbed in Eternal Consciousness by embracing a buffalo, initiated Vallimalai Swamigal into Aatmatma Girijamati, one of the slokas composed by Sri Adi Shankara. He then told Vallimalai Swamigal to devote his life to the spread of Tiruppugazh.
During Vallimalai Swamigal's mission of spreading Tiruppugazh from Vallimalai, an old man came and consumed 1.5 kg of porridge that was meant for him and vanished. From the next day, a mongoose would consume the food meant for the old man. Similarly, after Seshadri Swamigal's Mahasamadhi, the caretaker of the burial grounds of Tiruvannamalai yearned to see Swamigal, and Swamigal graced him by telling him to go to Vallimalai. The caretaker saw the mongoose eating the food, people singing Tirupuggazh to it, and suddenly, the mongoose transformed into Seshadri Swamigal before disappearing from there.
Another miracle was demonstrated to Sri Vallimalai Swamigal when Seshadri Swamigal was in his physical form. He told Vallimalai Swamigal to board a train to Vallimalai, promising to join him. Vallimalai Swamigal reached Vallimalai, completed his daily ablutions and turned around to suddenly see Seshadri Swamigal (who had intentionally missed the train from Tiruvannamalai). Vallimalai Swamigal saw him transform into a squirrel that jumped onto the nearby trees and disappeared.
When he was 19 years old, Sri Adi Sankara met Sri Balaji Swamigal, an avadut, who gave him sannyasa diksha and taught him the Mahavakyas. Sri Adi Sankara then travelled to different parts of Tamil Nadu before settling in Tiruvannamalai for 40 years, living as an ascetic with no concern for worldly possessions or appearances.
Later, Sri Adi Sankara met a Hindu scholar named Kaamakoti Sastrigal, who did not have a son but loved the children of his elder brother, Chidambara Sastrigal, as his own. When Maragatham, the youngest daughter of Chidambara Sastrigal, reached marriageable age, Kaamakoti Sastrigal arranged for her to marry Sri Adi Sankara's disciple, Varadarajan.
Sri Seshadri Swamigal passed away on January 4, 1929, and his body was buried according to the custom of saints. During his last days, he suffered from a fever, and despite his reluctance, his devotees performed the "Pattabhishekam" ceremony, which involved shaving, bathing, and dressing him up. Swamigal had been contemplating shedding his mortal body for some months before this. After the ceremony, he became weak and thin, but he still wandered around the town. Eventually, he sat in the verandah of a house and attained MahaSamadhi. During his final rites, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was present and observed Mouna (silence).