Samanta was a title and position used in the history of the Indian subcontinent between 4th and 12th century[1][2] to denote a vassal, feudal lord or tributary chief.
In North India, the earliest use of the term in a similar sense was in Bengal in the Barabar Hill Cave Inscription of the Maukhari Chief, Anantavarman (dating to the 6th century AD) in which his father is described as the Samanta-Chudamanih (best among feudatories) of the imperial Guptas.
By the end of the Gupta period and by the 6th century the term Samanta came to be universally accepted as the Prince of a subjugated but reinstated tributary region.
[8] In effect, the institution of the Samanta brought rulers of fragmented or tribalistic, small independent regions under subjugation to serve the king or emperor as vassals.
The office of the Samanta represented a semantic change in state formation from an independent neighbour to a tributary chief and finally to a high ranking court official.
[1] Bana mentions a large number of conquered enemy Maha-Samantas in the royal camp who were probably waiting to be assigned their new duties.
Dr Regmi writes that in Nepal the Samanatas adopted high sounding titles such as Maharaja and Maharajadhiraja at a time when they were just Samantas (vassals).
An example is Baliraja of Chaughan Rajasthanakot of Jumla who was made a Samanta Raja of the state after he married the daughter of Medinivarma who was the heiress of Semja.