North India is reunited briefly under Harsha Vardhana (or Harsha, r. 606-47), but neither the Guptas nor Harsha contro a centralized state, and their administrative styles rested on the collaboration of regional and local officials for administering their rule rather than on centrally appointed personnel.

The Gupta period marks a watershed of Indian culture: the Guptas perform Vedic sacrifices to legitimize their rule, but they also patronize Buddhism, which continues to provide an alternative to Brahmanical orthodoxy.