Entrance examination
R. B. Sanyal was born in Lalgola, Murshidabad District of present-day West Bengal in 1858 at his maternal uncle's house. His native place was a village named Mahula in Murshidabad District, West Bengal. Son of Baidyanath Sanyal, he passed the Entrance examination from Baharampur College. He came to Calcutta for studies, and joined the Calcutta Medical College, probably in 1870. He gave up his studies on the recommendation of doctors as he developed eye problems. Among early influences on his career was that of Dr. George King, noted botanist and the superintendent of the Indian Botanical Gardens in Shibpur (then the "Royal Botanic Gardens"), who was a faculty at the Calcutta Medical College.