Rashsundari Devi was born c. 1809 in the village of Potajia, in
Pabna district. Her father, Padmalochan Roy, died when Rassundari was a small child. She never saw her father and was raised by her mother and relatives. Formal education was not given to girls of the time. She used to be around a boys' school run by a missionary woman in her father's house. By listening to the lessons going on at school Rashsundari learned the letters of the
Bengali language. She secretly studied the alphabet from her family member's books in the flickering light of candles at night. At age 12 she married Sitanath Sarkar from Ramdia village, Rajbari,
Faridpur. She bore 12 children, of whom 7 died early. Her husband died in 1868. Her son Kishori Lal Sarkar became an advocate at
Calcutta High Court and is the author of several noteworthy works. ==Autobiography ==