Such offices as zamindar, jagirdar, and mansabdar, among others, may be considered rough equivalents to the Samanta in the latter history of India.

The institution is known to have existed prior to the Gupta period, though details are vague. A Pallava inscription dating to the time of Santivarman (455-470 CE) uses the term Samanta-Chudamanayaha ("best among feudatories").