[2][3] His best known works are the autobiographical novel Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), Aparajito (Undefeated), Chander Pahar (Mountain of the Moon) and Aranyak (of the forest).

The Bandyopadhyay family originated in the Panitar village near Basirhat, located in the North 24 Parganas district of modern-day West Bengal.

Bandyopadhyay's great-grandfather, who was an Ayurvedic physician, eventually settled in Barrackpore village, near Gopalnagar, Banagram (now Bangaon), North 24 Parganas.

From the fifth grade, Bandyopadhyay studied at Bongaon High School, one of the oldest institutions in British India, and was considered as a talented student.

His first job was as a teacher, but he also served as a travelling publicist for Goraksini Sabha, and later as a secretary for Khelatchandra Ghosh, a role that included the management of his Bhagalpur estate.

Pather Panchali brought Bandyopadhyay to prominence in Bengali literature, and the novel and its sequel Aparajito, were subsequently translated into numerous languages.

His novels Ashani Sanket and Ichhamati have been translated into English respectively as Distant Thunder and Ichhamoti by Chhanda Chattopadhyay Bewtra and published by Parabaas.