In Samudragupta's prashasti, the poet praised the king in glowing terms-as a warrior, as a king who won victories in battle, who was learned and the best of poets. He is also described as equal to the Gods.

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.

The three authors who wrote about Harshavardhana were:
(i) Hien-T-Sangs (Xuan Zang)
(ii) Banabhatta
(iii) He himself has written some books.

The advantages and disadvantages of having hereditary officers are described below:
Advantages
(i) The father could train his son from an early age in the office that he held.
(ii) There will be a continuity of policy.
Disadvantages
(i) An incompetent son may come to hold the office.
(ii) Other more competent persons will be deprived of the opportunity to run the office. 

In Aryavarta, there were nine rulers who were uprooted and their kingdoms were made a part of Samudgragupta's empire.
In Dakshinapatha, there were twelve rulers. They surrendered to Samudragupta after being defeated and he then allowed them to rule again.
Samudragupta adopted different policies because Dakshinapatha was far away from his capital, since the means of transport were primitive, it was difficult to keep the rulers under control.

(i) The best known Chalukya ruler was Pulakeshin II. We known about him from a prashasti. This prashasti (inscription) was composed by Pulakeshin II's court poet Ravikirti. This tells us about his ancestors, who are traced back through four generations from father to son.
(ii) Pulakeshin II evidently got the Kingdom from his uncle. According to Ravikirti
(a) He led expeditions along both the West and the East coast.
(b) Pulakeshin II checked the advance of Harsha. Harsha means happiness.
(c) Pulakeshin II also attacked the Pallava king, who took shelter behind the walls of Kanchipuram. However the successors of Pulakeshin II were not very capable and therefore the Chalukyas victory was short-lived.

The main achievements of the Pallavas and the Chalukyas were:
(i) The Pallavas and Chalukyas were that most important ruling dynasties in South India. The kingdom of the Pallavas spread from the region around their capital, Kanchipuram to the Kaveri delta, while that of the Chalukyas was centred around the Raichur Doab, between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra.
(ii) The Pallavas and Chalukyas frequently attacked one another's areas, particularly they attacked the capital cities, which were prosperous towns.
(iii) Aihole, the capital of the Chalukyas, was an important trading and commercial centre. Initially this town developed as a religious centre, with a number of temple.
(iv) During the days of Pulakeshin II, the Chalukyas defeated Harshavardhana. But this victory was short-lived.
(v)Ultimately, both the Pallavas and the Chalukyas gave way to new rulers belonging to Rashtrakuta and Chola dynasties.