[2] He is mentioned in the first verse of Adi Shankara's prakaraṇa grantha (treatise) Viveka Chudamani.

As per the Madhavīya Shankaravijaya, after leaving Kerala, Adi Shankara reached the banks of the river Narmada where he met Govinda Bhagavatpada at Omkareshwar.

The Madhavīya Shankaravijaya states that Adi Shankara once calmed a flood from the River Narmada by placing his kamanḍalu (water pot) in the path of the raging water, thus saving his guru Govinda Bhagavatpada who was immersed in Samādhi in a cave nearby.

Shankara was then initiated as Govinda Bhagavatapada's disciple,[1] thus formally entering sanyasa.

Adi Shankara was then commissioned by his Guru to write a Bhashya (commentary) on the Brahma Sutra and spread the Advaita philosophy far and wide.