Sircar was born at Chorbagan in North Calcutta. His family hailed from Taragram in Hooghly district of West Bengal, and the family name was originally Das. For services rendered, the Nawab of Bengal had awarded the title 'Sarkar' to Bireshwar Das, an ancestor. Bhairav Chandra Sarkar, Pyari Charan's father, had become quite wealthy as a ship chandler serving the East India Company, and the family was a fairly good example of the new bhadralok class. Sarkar was and educated at David Hare's Pataldanga School, and admitted to Hindu College, but shortly afterwards his father and then one of his brothers died. His eldest brother was working in Hooghly and could only send money to their mother; as a Hindu widow she had little standing in the family and was ejected from the family home, along with Sircar and his younger brothers and sisters.
