Prashasti is a Sanskrit word which means 'in praise of.' Hence, the prashastis are composed in praise of contemporary kings. They were written by either royal poets or written by the visitors who visited India during this time. Mainly these prashastis were written in Sanskrit which was difficult for common men to read and understand.

If Arvind was acting as Samudragupta, he would have to do the following things:
(i) He had to march solemnly in splendid robes, to twirl his moustaches and wield the silver-paper wrapped sword with great enthusiasm.
(ii) He had to sit on a royal throne and act to playa veena and recite poetry

The changes made in the army at this time are:
Kings of this time had a large and well maintained army. Except this regular army, there were some military leaders who provided kings with troops whenever they required. These military leaders were not paid salaries. They collected revenue from the land granted by the king and used collected revenue for maintaining good army. Thus, during wars, the military leaders who provided army to kings were known as samantas. This system became an important part of the army at that period.

(i)  Some of the kings maintained a well-organised army with elephants, chariots, cavalry and foot soldiers.
(ii) There were military leaders who provided the king with troops whenever he needed them.
(iii) They were not paid regular salaries. Instead, some of them received grants of land.
(iv) They collected revenue from land and used this to maintain soldiers and horses and provide equipments for warfare. These men were known as samantas.
(iv) Whenever the ruler was weak, samantas tried to become independent.

(i) Kings adopted a number of steps to win the support of men who were powerful either economically or socially or because of their political and military strength.
(ii)  Some important administrative posts were now hereditary.
(iii) Sometimes, one person held many offices. For instance, besides being a Maha-Danda-Nayaka, Harisena was a Kumar-Amartya, Meaning an important minister.
(iv)Besides, some important men had a say in local administration. These included chief bankers or merchants of the city, the leaders of the merchant caravans, the chief craftsmen, and the head of the tribes.

(i) Establishment of Harsha-vardhan Empire: The breakup of the Gupta empire was followed by a period of disorder. Small kingdoms fought against one another. Finally, Harshavardhana conquered these kingdoms and established a powerful empire.
(ii) Military Campaigns: The capital of Harsha's empire was Kannauj. He conquered Punjab, Eastern Rajasthan and the whole of the Ganga valley up to Assam. He attacked the Chalukyan King but was defeated. Harsha did not annex all the territories that he conquered. He allowed some kings whom he defeated, to continue ruling. They accepted Harsha as their overlord and paid him an annual tribute.
(iii) Sources of Information: Banabhatta, a learned man who wrote a biography of Harsha called Harshacharita gives us information about this period.
Another source of information is Hieun Tsang, a Chinese Buddhist scholar who came from China via Central Asia to India. He stayed in India for 15 years. He gave an account of life in Harsha's period in a book called Si-Yu-Ki or records of the Western World.
(iv) Religion: Before embracing Buddhism, Harsha worshipped Shiva and Surya. Later on, he became a Buddhist like Ashoka, Manender and Kanishka. Like them, he was tolerant towards other religions. The Indian government practises this attitude of tolerance towards all religious even today.
(iv) Administration: Just like the Mauryas and Guptas, the king was assisted by a council of ministers. Unlike the Mauryas but similar to the Guptas, power was not centralised. Harsha's empire was also divided into provinces. These were headed by Governors.