He was born in the village Baikunthapur, Basudebpur block, Bhadrak district, Orissa, India and obtained a Ph.D. in 1954 from the University of Leeds where he studied Cytogenetics.
He married his late first wife, Shantilata Panigrahi (née, Sabat) in June, 1948.
She was an accomplished amateur dancer in Kathakali-Odissi systems of dancing, and a Government of Orissa scholar at Shantiniketan.
His second wife, 'Sarojini G. Panigrahi (née, Tara Waman Kelkar of Pune) died when he was seventy.
His eldest daughter, Meera, is a retired senior lecturer in English literature under the Government of Orissa.