Bhagwandas was a leading cotton trader who started a ginning and pressing mill in the city.
He also launched a women's college and established the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
He started the English daily, 'The Hitavada', in Nagpur in January, 1979, which has now got multiple editions.
He is survived by three sons - former MP Banwarilal Purohit, US-based surgeon Surendra Purohit and industrialist Ashok Purohit - and four daughters.