During the epic period, about 4,000 B.C. there are references to astrological calculations and predictions in literary works like the Ramayana, Bhagavata and Bharata. It has been mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana that the sage Vasishta, advised king Dasaratha, who was childless, to perform the putrakamesti-yajna to beget a son and also fixed the auspicious time for the same. That Rama's nakshatra or the stellar constellation and the day of his birth according to the lunar calendar has been recorded is well known as his birthday is celebrated even to this day. Similarly, in Bhagavata, the birth of Krishna is described in detail, giving the day of his birth and the star constellation. In Mahabharata, the astrological dates of the war between Kauravas and Pandavas has been mentioned.

The earliest historical records of ancient India, however, are those found in the ruins of the Indus Valley civilization, which was contemporaneous with those of Egypt and Sumer and dated around 3000 B.C. The archaeological excavations carried out during the early part of this century at Harappa and Mohenjodaro reveal their remarkable skills in metal-crafts, art and architecture as well as in town-planning. They bear testimony to the advanced techniques of drainage and irrigation systems developed by them. But because of their peace-loving nature, they were conquered by the nomadic tribes of Afghanistan who extended their territory to the Gangetic valley.

It is well known that when the Buddha was born, in the 6th Century B.C. the court astrologer named Asita cast the baby's horoscope and predicted that the prince would either become a great emperor or a renunciant. As it turned out, he became the Buddha, who considered astrology to be an unprofitable preoccupation. It confirms that astrology was well-developed even before the Buddha's time. The Buddha, however, laid stress on personal effort and discipline as the essential tools for spiritual progress towards the ultimate goal of liberation. Astrology which believes in predestination as against individual effort, was condemned by him. As Buddhism spread far and wide, interest in astrology began to diminish. During the reign of Asoka, about the 3rd century B.C. Indians made remarkable contributions in the fields of religion, art, literature and sciences but astrology seems to have been ignored. About a century later it was resumed, because a recent study of the Buddhist stupas at Sanchi, including the great stupa built by Sung a kings around the 2nd century B.C., suggests that the inner and outer balustrades might have been designed to serve as a luni-solar calendar. The north-south axis of the stupa has been shifted by about 15 so as to align the east-west entrances to it to face the moon-rise and the sunset on the Buddha purnima day, the day Buddha attained nirvana (in 544 B.C.) which is auspicious to Buddhists all over the world.