He was born on 18 November 1898, the eldest son of Shri Harinath Bagchi and Smt Tarangini Devi in present-day Bangladesh in Magura District.

Although he showed promise in Mathematics, he took Sanskrit, the classical language of India, because of his desire to study ancient Indian history.

The period from 1921 onwards was highly significant for Prabodh Chandra Bagchi in fulfilling his dream to become a true Orientalist.

Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, the Vice-Chancellor deputed Prabodh Chandra to learn Chinese and Tibetan from Sylvain Lévi, the Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Civilization in the Sorbonne University, Paris who was in Santiniketan on an invitation from Rabindranath Tagore.

It was also from Sylvain Lévi and the great poet Rabindranath that Prabodh Chandra imbibed a new approach to research on the Indian cultural history which renewed his endeavour to learn various foreign languages to have access to the original source materials.

Instead of fragmented specialised studies he realised that ancient Indian history and culture should be viewed in its entirety so that many obscure areas would be brought into light.

Among his findings the palm leaf manuscripts of Kaula-Jnana- Nirnaya and Sammoho Tantra need special mention as they throw light on mysticism, influence of Sakti-ism on later Buddhism and emergence of new religious creeds.

He got the opportunity to work with Sylvain Lévi, Louis Finot, the founder of Ecole de Pali in Phnom Penh, George Groslier who established a renowned museum in Phnom Penh, National Museum of Cambodia, Henry Marshal, the head of Ecole Francaise d' extreme orient in Hanoi and Henri Permentier exponent of Khmer art and culture.

He worked on following areas during his time in France: He was awarded the highest degree of Docteur es Letters (State Doctorate) by the Paris University.

In 1931, he along with Professors Suniti Kumar Chatterjee and Sukumar Sen formed an informal study circle at the Calcutta University for various deliberations on the discipline of historical linguistics, which was known as the science of comparative philology.

Parichayagosthi, an association of eminent literary persons like Hiran Kumar Sanyal, Bishnu Dey, Sudhin Datta and others had their gatherings at Prabodh's residence.

In the meantime, the government of India created a Chair Professorship at Peking University to promote Sino-Indian understanding and cultural ties.

An international conference (23–24 November 2008) was held in Beijing to commemorate the 110th birth anniversary of Professors Prabodh Chandra Bagchi and Tan Yunshan by remembering their scholarly contribution to Sino-Indian studies.

A book on the collection of articles written by Prabodh Chandra was also released at the conference (India and China: Interactions through Buddhism and Diplomacy).

On his return from China, he resumed his work at Visva Bharati and took charge of Vidya Bhavana, the department of higher studies.

The all round growth of Visva Bharati in keeping with the ideals of its founder, the great poet Rabindranath Tagore became his main thrust.

He used to edit personally the Quarterly journals like Sino-Indian Studies, Visva Bharati Annals and Sahitya Prakashika.

In 1954, Bagchi delivered a series of scholarly lectures in memory of Adhar Chandra Mukherjee at the Calcutta University on the obscure field of India and South East Asia.

Bagchi was invited by the Government of India to lead a cultural delegation to China which he declined due to his preoccupation with the administrative work of Visva-Bharati.

This book is of immense value as one of the major sources of our knowledge about the ancient geography, prevailing Buddhism and the travel account of Xuanzang.

In him the nation has lost a distinguished scholar, Indologist, Sinologist and a worker who strived steadfastly for the ideals of Satyam, Shivam and Sundaram, which have been the motto of the university since its inception."

She was a great pillar of support, sharing in every aspect of his scholarly life and, running the family when he was away on his long foreign travels, exploratory field trips or lost in his remarkable library of rare and invaluable books into which he would delve for hours or when he was busy typing out his observations, the staccato from his Remington type writer a familiar sound in the household.

Prabodh Chandra Bagchi was a man of sensitivity which is evident from his love for animals, music, aesthetics and refined life style.

The well known scientist, Satyendra Nath Bose personally benefited from an introductory letter to Madame Marie Curie by Prof. Sylvain Lévi at the request of Bagchi.

Satyendra Nath Bose has given an illuminating account of the significant role played by the young Bagchi, a man of 'exemplary integrity' in a chapter in his Bengali compilation of essays.

This organisation under the guidance of Prabodh Chandra gave shelter to the Indian freedom fighters who were branded as anti-government by the British authorities.

The Association was involved in revolutionary activities with its branches in various European cities and its headquarters at 17, Rue de Sommerard in Paris.

Some are listed here: Bagchi's immense contribution to his field was highlighted with Centenary Celebrations at He published a large number of books in English, French and Bengali.