The sarthavaha was a caravan trader who carried his goods to different places for profitable sale.

Other names (as mentioned in coins) include Vikrama, Devagupta, Devaraja, Simhavikrama, Vikramaditya and Sakari

Epigraphical Sources:
1. Mehrauli Iron Pillar inscription - achievements of Chandragupta I
2. Allahabad Pillar inscription - describing Samudragupta's personality and achievements in 33 lines composed by Harisena and engraved in Sanskrit in Nagari script.

1. At Mathura, the people are numerous and happy; they do not have to register their household.
2. Only those who cultivate the royal land have to pay a portion of the grain from it. Criminals are fined both lightly and heavily depending on the circumstances.

1. The origin of Huns is not definitely known. According to Roman historian Tacitus, they were a barbarian tribe living near Caspian Sea and contributed to the fall of Roman Empire.
2. They organised under Attila and were known for their savagery and bestiality in Europe.
3. One branch of Huns, know as white Huns, moved towards India from Central Asia and their invasion began about a hundred years after the Kushanas.

1. Sri Gupta
2. Chandra Gupta -I
3. Samudra Gupta
4. Chandra Gupta -II
5. Kumara Gupta
6. Skanda Gupta

1. They celebrated navaratnas like Kalidasa, Amarasimha, Visakadatta and Dhanvantri.
2. Kalidasa's famous dramas are Sakunthalam, Malavikagnimitram and Vikramaurvashiyam.
3. The works of Sudraka (Mrichchhakatika), Visakhadatta (Mudraraksasa and Devichandraguptam).

1. The Gupta period also saw the development of Sanskrit grammar based on Panini who wrote Ashtadhyayi and Patanjali who wrote Mahabhashya on the topic.
2. This period is particularly memorable for the compilation of the Amarakosa, a the saurus in Sanskrit, by Amarasimha.
3. A Buddhist scholar from Bengal, Chandrogomia, composed a book on grammar named Chandravyakaranam.

During the Gupta period, the land was classified as detailed below:

Literary sources:
1. Narada, Vishnu, Brihaspati and Katyayanasmritis.
2. Kamandaka's Nitisara, a work on polity addressed to the king (400 CE).
3. Devichandraguptam and Mudrarakshasamby Vishakadutta provide details about the rise of the Guptas.
4. Buddhist and Jaina texts
5. Works of Kalidasa

1. Internal fighting and dissensions among the royal family led to its collapse.
2. In the sixth century CE, the Huns occupied Malwa, Gujarat, Punjab and Gandhara. As the Hun invasion weakened the Gupta.
3. Independent rulers emerged all over the north like Yasodharman of Malwa, the Maukharis of Uttar Pradesh, the Maitrakas in Saurashtra and others in Bengal.

1. Metallic preparations for the purpose of medicine and references to the use of mercury and iron by Varahamihira and others indicate that much progress was made in chemistry.
2. The Navanitakam was a medical work, which is a manual of recipes, formulation and prescriptions.
3. Hastyayurveda or the veterinary science authored by Palakapya attests to the advances made in medical science during the Gupta period.
4. Internal fighting and dissensions among the royal family led to its collapse.

1. The social formation of feudalism was the characteristic of the medieval society in India.
2. Feudal features listed by historian R.S. Sharma are: royal grants of land; transfer of fiscal and judicial rights to the beneficiaries;
3. The grant of their rights over peasants, artisans and merchants; an increased incidence of forced labour; appropriation of surplus by the state;
4. A decline in trade and coinage; payment of officials through land revenue assignments; and the growth of the obligations of the samantas (subordinate or feudatory rulers).

1. Nitisara, written by Kamandaka, is a text like Arthasastra.
2. It emphasises the importance of the royal treasury and mentions various sources of revenue.
3. The many ambitious military campaigns of kings like Samudragupta must have been financed through revenue surpluses.
4. Gupta inscriptions reveal some details about the revenue department. The akshapataladhikrita was the keeper of royal records.

1. Seals and inscriptions mention military designations such as baladhikrita and mahabaladhikrita (commander of infantry and cavalry).
2. The standard term "senapat" does not occur in Gupta inscriptions, but the term could be found in some Vakataka epigraphs.
2. A Vaishali seal mentions the ranabhandagar-adhikarana, which is the office of the military storehouse.
3. Another Vaishali seal mentions the adhikarana (office) of the dandapashika, which, may have been a district-level police office.