Born in the family of musicians in a small village Thiruvizha, Alleppey, Jayashankar was keen to learn music and drawing in his childhood. He is the son of nadaswara maestro Thiruvizha Raghava Panickar and grandson of Thiruvizha Sanku Panickar. Jayasankar opted for preliminary lessons in the nagaswaram under his grandfather and later received advanced training from his father with whom he began playing in the temples of central Travancore almost on a regular basis. His debut performance (Arangetram) was in the year 1955 at the age of 16 which was held at the Pathiyoor Devi Temple, Kayamkulam.