Born into a wealthy family, his father and grandfather were rich and scholarly. His father, Pandit Jagganath Shukla, came of a family which had resisted British rulers for three generations and his mother, Tulsi Devi, was industrious and a capable manager. Young Ravishankar's earliest years were passed in a scholarly atmosphere heavily charged with Indian classics, Shri Ramcharit Manas and Gita. He was admitted to Sunderlal Guru's Pathshala in Sagar. It was one of the six Pathshalas established by the British in Central Provinces. On every lunar fortnight of Amavasya and Purnima, the students would offer the Guru a Seedha which consisted of wheat, rice and salt, for in those days the teachers were accepting only a token salary from the government. In the year 1885, at the age of 8, Ravishankar completed his primary education.