Sanjay Rath belongs to a traditional family of astrologers from Bira Balabhadrapur Sasan village of Puri, Orissa, which trace their lineage back to Shri Achyuta Das (Sri Achyutananda). His grandfather, the late Pandit Jagannath Rath, was the Jyotish Ratna of Orissa and authored many books on Jyotish. He began his studies at a tender age, and received the depth of Jyotish only found among those who have been trained in the ancient traditional way of the parampara.