Some scholars have claimed that the Babylonians invented the zodiac of 360 degrees around 700 BCE, perhaps even earlier. Many claim that India received the knowledge of the zodiac from Babylonia or even later from Greece. However, as old as the Rig Veda, the oldest Vedic text, there are clear references to a chakra or wheel of 360 spokes placed in the sky. The number 360 and its related numbers like 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 108, 432 and 720 occur commonly in Vedic symbolism.

The History of Sanskrit literature in Orissa has been divided into three broad periods, such as: (a) Early period (c. 300-1100AD), (b) Mediaeval period (1100-1500 AD), and (c) post Independence period (1568-1948 AD). The subject namely the Sanskrit poets and scholars of Orissa flourished in the reign of the Suryavamsi Gajapati Period (1435-1568 A.D.).

The Panjika (almanac) is a book of dates, lunar days, auspicious and inauspicious times, positions of the sun, moon, planets and stars, horoscope, days of various festivals and religious occasions, etc. In ancient Sanskrit literature and in many regions of India, it is called Panchanga or five sections, because it contains information primarily on five aspects of life: days, lunar days, stars, conjunction of stars and action. In Bengal and Bangladesh it is well known as Panjika

Pandit Samanta Chandra Sekhar Harichandan Mohapatra, locally known as "Pathani Samanta", was the illustrious author of Siddhanta Darpan - a systematic record of his life-long relentless work composed in beautiful metrical Sanskrit verses . Siddhanta Darpan is an astronomical treatise in elegant Sanskrit verses, developed and improved upon the Surya-Siddhanta and the Siddhanta- Siromani of the past.