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. Trade items ranged from products for daily use to valuable and luxury goods. They included pepper, sandalwood, elephants, horses, gold, copper, iron and mica.
2. Guild is a society or other organisation of people with common interests or an association of merchants.
3. There are several references in several sources to artisans, traders and occupational groups in the guilds.
4. Guilds continued as the major institution in the manufacture of goods and in commercial enterprise.
5. The Narada and Brihaspati Smritis describe the organisation and activities of guilds.
6. They mention that the guild had a chief and two, three or five executive officers.
7. Guild laws were apparently laid down in written documents. The Brihaspati Smriti refers to guilds rendering justice to their members and suggests that these decisions should, by and large, be approved by the king.

1. The importance of irrigation to agriculture was recognised in India from the earliest times the Narada Smriti, two kinds of dykes.
2. The bardhya, which protected the field from floods, and the khara, which served the purpose of irrigation.
3. To prevent inundation, jalanirgamah (drains) were constructed, which is mentioned by Amarasimha.
4. Canals were constructed not only from rivers but also from tanks and lakes.
5. The most famous lake was the Sudarsana lake at the foot of Girnar Hills in Gujarat.

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.