In plain words
Having taken that sacred birth, he recited the Gāyatrī mantra at the age of only five; through it he knew the four Vedas thoroughly by the age of just thirteen or fourteen; and through that he vowed to lead the world onto the spiritual path. He was a great soul who not only gave all the Upaniṣads to the world in many subtle ways, but also wrote a commentary and gave it to the world under the fitting name of Śaṅkara Bhāṣya. To spread and teach this sacred culture of Bhārata with his time and his body, he travelled the whole of Bhārata, and resolved to live for a while in the city of Kāśī.
Worship Govinda, O deluded mind
Fourteen chief disciples went along with Śaṅkara. He made it his daily task to go through the city of Kāśī, street after street, making the chant of the Vedas ring out and teaching the greatness of human birth. While he was going about in this way, in a bazaar, an aged brāhmin inside an old house was studying the verbal roots of grammar. Just then Śaṅkara entered the house and spoke with the brāhmin. ‘Sir! Please tell me what fruit has come to you from studying this grammar,’ he asked. ‘Swami! My family is very large. I have neither the strength nor the means to support it. Somehow or other I study, get myself called a pandit, say a few words to people and earn a few coins: I labour to support my family,’ the brāhmin replied to Śaṅkara. Then Śaṅkara told him all that needed telling, went back to his own lodging, and set about writing a verse with what had happened that day as its refrain. That verse he had written, with the fourteen disciples seated around him, he
Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, O deluded mind! When the appointed time draws near, the rule ḍukṛñkaraṇe will not, will not save you.