Shri Sureshwaracharya, the author of Naishkarmya Siddhi is also known as the Vartikakara in Vedantic circles. He has been a riddle to the historians. The legendary accounts of Sureshwara, as detailed in the various Shankara-Vijayas, are mutually contradictory in many respects, even with regard to his time, pre-monastic name, place of origin, etc and are hardly worth believing. Scholars are divided in their opinion on the identity of Mandana vis-a-vis Sureshwara and Vishwarupa. The only historical facts that are ascertainable as indubitable are those recorded by the author himself.

He was the immediate disciple of Shankara and wrote his work as commissioned by his guru. He also wrote the Vartikas on Taittiriya and Brhadaran yaka Bhashyas of Shankara. He is the only author of Vedantic works subsequent to Shankara, who closely follows the Upadesha Sahasri and profusely quotes from the same, in support of his propositions and thus vindicates his claim as a direct disciple of Shankara in marked differentiation to other purported disciples. He supplements his teachings with arguments based on the Shruti invariably appealing to universal intuition and defending his position against all unvedantic encroachments.

The critical student will be greatly profited by a careful and diligent study of his thought stimulating works.