Born in 1817, Devendranath Tagore was a famous poet and strong combatant of blind beliefs like idolatry and superstition in Hindu religion. He was the son of Dwarkanath Tagore, a famous businessman of the 1940s, and father of
Rabindranath Tagore, a famous Bengali poet and Nobel Prize winner. Devendranath was popularly known as ‘Maharsi’, literally meaning 'saint,' because he was living a saint-like life. For fulfilling his desire to eradicate the evil beliefs in
Hinduism, he formed the Tatwabodhini Sabha. Later it joined with the
Brahma Samaj, a Hindu theistic society, of
Raja Ram Mohan Roy and he became its leader after Ram Mohan Roy.
Devendranath Tagore founded Shantiniketan as an ashram in 1863, which later became the famous Visva Bharati University. He is also considered to be one of the architects of Bengali prose during the vital period of its history. His style, poise and dignity of expression are outstanding. The deep perception of the beauties of nature in his works is also notable. Atmajivani and Brahmo Dharmer Byakhyan were his famous books. He passed away in 1905.
