Jagannath Das was born in the village of Bhagalpur, Jagatsinghpur, Odisha in 1920. He went to Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati Univiersity, Shantiniketan in 1946 and did his specialisation in Painting. In 1950 he joined as a designer in the deptt. Of State Handloom and Textile of Odisha. He received State Lalit kala Akademi Award and retired as a superintendent of State Handicraft Design Centre, Bhubaneswar (1968-78). After his retirement he worked for the development of Odishan Handicrafts.