By Sunil Kumar(My answer originally on Quora)
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century(some sources; others earlier). He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China(later to be called Zen in Japan), and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to Chinese legend, he also began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin Kung Fu. In Japan, he is known as Daruma.
According to Tánlín’s brief biography of the “Dharma Master” is found in his preface to the Long Scroll of the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices, a text traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma and the first text to identify him as South Indian:
“The Dharma Master was a South Indian of the Western Region. He was the third son of a great Indian king. His ambition lay in the Mahayana path, and so he put aside his white layman’s robe for the black robe of a monk. Lamenting the decline of the true teaching in the outlands, he subsequently crossed distant mountains and seas, traveling about propagating the teaching in Han and Wei.”
Nehru mentioned Bodhidharma in his book “Glimpses of World History”; to illustrate a long relationship between India and China. Also in another book I edited; mentioned by the author who is the head of an Indo-Chinese economic body; who placed him as a South Indian prince from the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Another story about him- Pallava prince from Kanchipuram(present-day Tamil Nadu)
Some more accounts about Bodhidharma mention North West India(The Punjab and NWFP(Northern Areas) or a Central Asian origin(Bactria where Buddhism was prevalent).
As to how many Indians know about him; there have been movies made on Bodhidharma in Telugu. He will be more known if there’s a Bollywood or a Western film.
Apparently, Bodhidharma confined himself to a cave and never spoke to people for nine years, and there was no mention of Bodhidharma fighting with anyone, some historical sources suggest.
His origins and existence are shrouded in mystery; and there are many accounts about him.