Adi Shankara was born in Kalady, a village in Kerala, India, to a Namboothiri brahmin couple, Shivaguru and Aryamba and lived for thirty-two years. Adi Shankara’s parents were childless for many years. They prayed at the Vadakkunnathan temple (also known as Vrishachala) in Thrissur, Kerala, for the birth of a child.