Orientology is the study of the indigenous lore and wisdom of the ancient East or the ‘Orient'. The Institute concerns itself with research activity in the field of Orientology with a vision to enlighten the world about the all - comprehensive knowledge generated in the East especially in India. The institute has one of the largest collections of rare books and manuscripts spanning over 1,40,000 books and 28,000 manuscripts collected in a period of 90 years covering practically every aspect of Orientology. This collection covers several language and scripts such as Sanskrit, Prakrit, Indian regional languages, classical Asian and European languages.

In addition, through the pursuits of its research projects in the Mahabharata and Prakrit Languages it has created invaluable reference archives.

The Institute organizes learned Lectures by guest scholars under its various Memorial Lectureships. The All India Oriental Conference, various seminars and scholarly discussions are also organized by the Institute.

The institute publishes an annual journal ‘Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute'. The most prominent publications of the Institute are: Critical Edition of the Mahabharata, History of Dharmashastra, Descriptive Catalogues of Manuscripts and The Prakrit Dictionary.

The Institute also hosts a Manuscripts Resource and Conservation Centre under the auspices of the National Mission for Manuscripts, a project of the Cultural Ministry of India. In short, the Institute has been effectively playing the role of a very significant centre of Indological Studies and Research.