He was born into a Smartha family bearing the name "Tangirala", of Apasthamba sutra, Krishna Yajur sakha, Kutsasa gotra, living in Alugumallepadu village in Palnadu area of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, on the banks of river Naguleru. He was born on 11 April 1951 as a result of long prayer and vrata by his father Venkateshwara Avadhani and mother Ananthalakshmamma. Seetharama Anjaneyalu evinced signs of devotion towards the Almighty in His childhood. His Brahmopadesha was performed when he was seven yearsof age and he was regular in the performance of the prescribed karmas of Sandhyavandanam three times a day, and Agnikaryam, twice a day. Sri Anjaneyalu, in addition to schooling, spent time to study Sanskrit and also started taking Vedic lessons from his father, who himself was a Vedic scholar.
In the year 1966, Sri Anjaneyalu approached the 35th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji as a bachelor, at the age of 15, seeking his blessings and tutelage in the sastras. The Jagadguru Acharya accepted the disciple and the lessons in the Tarka sastras commenced. The Acharya also kept a close watch over the progress of his ward.
announced his desire to appoint the brahmachari Seetharama Anjaneyalu as the successor-designate and give him Sanyasa. The Shishya Sweekaram ceremony took place on the 11th day of November, 1974 and the brahmachari received the saffron robes, the sacred staff and the kamandalu from the acharya. The newly initiated sanyasi was given the Yogapatta Sri Bharati Teertha in line with the Dashanami Sampradaya of Shri Adishankaracharya.
Reign as Jagadguru
Sri Bharati Teertha Mahaswami has studied shastras like Vedanta, Mimamsa, Tarka, Nyaya, Vyakarana amongst others. He has also completed his studies in the Yajur Veda in Sadvidya Sanjivini Pathasala prior to taking up Sanyasa. The devotees of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham pay frequent visits to the matha seeking guidance and blessings. Many notable personalities who are politicians, spiritual gurus, et al. like Narendra Modi, Abdul Kalam, etc. have also paid visits and sought guidance. The Acharya is familiar with and delivers benedictory addresses in Indian languages like Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi which are available on . As part of the tradition, the acharya also undertakes Vijaya Yatras to visit different places and guide the devotees. The most recent one took place in the year 2017 which covered the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. The various events involved in the Vijaya Yatra are covered by Sri Sankara TV, which broadcasts the highlights on a daily basis during the course of the Vijaya Yatra. During his reign as the Jagadguru, assisted by V. R. Gowrishankar - the current CEO and administrator of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, the matha also undertook activities in the fieldof education and social service in addition to being a seat of Vedic learning. The Acharya is the pontiff, both in spiritual and secular sense. A celibate ascetic by tradition of the Matha, he leads the learning institutions within the monastery and worship festivals. In case of differing views on the operation of monastery, his decision is considered by the monks as binding. He is also responsible for screening, studying and selecting the monk who will succeed him as the next pontiff.
Appointment of the successor
Sri Bharati Teertha Mahaswami appointed the brahmachari Kuppa Venkateshwara Prasada Sharma as his successor designate, i.e., the 37th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham on 23 January 2015 and gave him the Yogapatta Sri Vidhusekhara Bharati Mahaswami.
