He was born in Jorasanko, Calcutta and was the eldest son of his father, Dwarakanath. Being the son of a person known as prince, he was brought up in the lap of luxury surrounded by pomp and power. But early in his youth the family fell into misfortune due to the economic depression in the1840s and the life style of his father Prince Dwarakanath Tagore, who died on the evening of 1 August 1846 at the St. George's Hotel in London, leaving a huge debt. Devendranath, however, managed to repay all the loans and was, even, able to retain some of his property by intelligent management and a modest style of living. He worled as a priest.
One day he came to learn a sloka from Ishaponishad written by Ram Chandra Vidyasagar which said that "God is immanent in all things, in whatsoever lives and moves in the Universe, enjoy therefore without being attached, covet not wealth belonging to the others". From that day the course of his life was changed forever.
Tattwabodhini Sabha :
Along with the awakening of the soul, the influence of Raja Rammohan Roy was of immense significance. In October 1839, he, along with his friends, started the Tattwararanjini Sabha. Its object was the dissemination of the knowledge of the Upanishads and the promotion of religious enquiry. In two years there were 500 members including rich and influential men of Bengal. Pt. Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar was for some time the secretary of this Sabha. It was the largest and most influential cultural organisation of Bengal and it lasted till 1854. It also had a printing press and Devendranath started publishing the Tattwabodhini Patrika. This Patrika became the principal organ of the samaj for propagating its views. It taught men to think seriously and speak earnestly. It inaugurated the era of earnest journalism in Bengal. It was published in 5 different languages from five different centers- in Bengali from Calcutta, in Tamil and English from Madras, and in Hindi and Urdu from Bareily.
