So, Venkataramana's long journey came to an end. The ship had reached the port safely. He became a sanyasi (a monk). He threw into the pond the little money he had with him together with the sweets that the Bhagavathar's wife had given him. He thought, 'This body died away, why make a fuss about it?' And so he did not bathe. He settled down in the temple.

Soon some naughty boys began to tease him. As he sat in meditation, they used to throw stones at him. To escape from them Venkataramana changed the place of his meditation to the under-ground cellar. This cellar was called Pathalalinga. For some days he was there without being troubled by the boys. But the naughty boys found out that place, too.

In the Arunachaleshwara temple, there was an aged sanyasin called Seshadri. Some people though the was a mad man. He not only saw to it that Venkataramana was not teased by the boys, but also under took to find food for him.