Seshadri Swamigal

Seshadri Swamigal, also known as the "Saint with a Golden Hand", was an Indian holy man who was born in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. He lived in Tiruvannaamalai, where he attained samadhi (a state of meditative consciousness). Varadaraja Sastrigal and Maragatham were yearning for a male child to continue their family lineage. One night, Kamakshi appeared in Sastrigal's dream and said: "Offer butter and a child of wisdom shall be born". Maragatham conceived, and Seshadri was born on 22 January 1870 as a gift from Parasakthi.

Childhood

Swamigal went into trances as a child, and would sit on his father's lap in a meditative chin mudra pose. When his father was teaching a class, he would look at the book as though he were reading and comprehending it. At age four, Swamigal received the nickname "Golden Hand" after Swamigal and his mother stopped at a shop selling bronze castings of the gods. The young Swamigal picked up a statue of Krishna and asked his mother to buy it so he could perform a Krishna puja. Thinking that the child resembled Krishna, the merchant gave him the idol free of charge. The next day, the trader said the boy was lucky; his entire consignment of 1,000 statues sold in one day, instead of the usual one or two.

Vallimalai Swamigal Vallimalai Swamigal (b. 1870) was a holy man who was responsible for the spread of the Thiruppugazh and was a disciple of Ramana Maharshi. Maharshi ordered him to go to the foot of the Arunachala hill, where Seshadri Swamigal initiated Vallimalai.

When Vallimalai Swamigal began spreading the beauty of the Thiruppugazh, an old man asked for alms, ate of porridge and disappeared; his disciples looked for the person with such a ravenous appetite. Beginning the next day, a mongoose would consume food meant for the old man. The similarity between the two sages was noted. is in Tiruvannamalai, near Ramanasramam. The Sundaravadanam Perumal temple in Vazhur, Swamigal's birthplace, was scheduled to be consecrated on 12 February 2012.