Dositej Obradović was born Dimitrije Obradović in 1739 to poor parents in the village of Tschakowa (Serbian: Čakovo; modern-day Ciacova, Timiş County, Romania), in the region of Banat, then part of the Habsburg Empire.
At the monastery, Obradović became a monk on 17 February 1757 and was very happy.