Ramdas lost his father at the age of 12.His mother arranged his marriage to his brother's daughter.However, he wanted to pursue a monastic life, and so while the wedding ceremony was proceeding, he eloped before the marriage rituals were performed.

Later,Ramdas devoted himself to study Hindu religious books, meditation, and prayers at Panchavati,near Nashik,on the banks of Godavari river.He exercised a lot  to achieve physical strength. He believed that no spiritual level could be attained if the physical body is not strong.

He was a great devotee of Lord Hanuman and he established 12 temples of Lord Hanuman to gain physical strength necessary to build spiritual understanding.

Ramdas swami was a gifted composer. Among his works, two compositions tand out: A small book of meditations titled "Shri Manaache Shlok", which consists of 205 memorable four-line verses, and a large volume titled Shrimat Daasbodh which consists of 7,751 “owi” .

Shri Manaache Shlok is an advice to behave in an ethical way and devote oneself in the love of God. Dasabodh provides advice on both spiritual and diverse practical topics. Samartha Ramdas swami also wrote "Shri Maruti Stotra" , Marathi adulatory poem for Lord Hanuman and several other works.

He also composed several other prayers such as that to Lord Hanuman "Satrane Uddane Hunkaar Vadani"and to Lord Khandoba "Panchanan haivahan surabhushan lila" 

Chhatrapati Shivaji and Ramdas swami are said to have first met in 1674. Shivaji said to have requested Ramdas swami to shift his residence to a fort named Parali & establish his permanent kingdom there. The fort was subsequently named as “Sajjangad".