Margadarsi Sheshayyangar is one of the lesser known composers of Carnatic music, who lived during the pre-trinity days. He was perhaps a contemporary of Shahaji, who ruled Tanjore during 1684-1710. According to Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini of Subbarama Dikshitar, Seshayyangar was a vaishava brahmin, a devotee of Lord Ranganatha, and a profound scholar of Sanskrit and music. He used the mudra “Kōsala” in all him compositions, and the reason may be that he hailed from Ayodhya. He is known to have been among the earliest to use the raga Begada and Brndavanasaranga. Sheshayyangar’s kritis have triple charanams.  Most of his compositions are on Lord Ranganatha, but a few are also on Lord Varadaraja of Kancipuram, Goddess Lakshmi, Rama, Sita, and saint Ramanuja. In 1902, nine kirtanams of Seshayyangar were published in “Gayaka locana” by Singaracharyulu.  Two specimens of his compositions appear in the “Oriental Music in European Notation” by A.M.C. Cinnayya Mudaliyar. In the Palace Library at Trivandrum and in the Kerala University collections his manuscripts are available.  The famous musician Shatkala Govinda Marar sang many of Seshayyangar’s songs before the king, Svati Tirunal. Attracted by the style of his compositions, Svati Tirunal wrote a treatise in Malayalam, known as as “muhana prasanantya prasa vyavasta,” dealing with the principles of proper usage of shabdalankara in musical compositions in Sanskrit. Svati Tirunal points out at the commencement of this work that he gathered the material for this work from the compositions of Sesha Ramanuja and Seshayyangar. Because he paved the way for a systematic style of compositions for all composers that followed, his title Margadarsi (one who shows the direction), is appropriate.