The reign of Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) saw the high watermark of the Gupta Empire. His court at Ujjain was adorned by numerous scholars, called the Navratnas (Nine gems)

• Amarsimha: Sanskrit lexicographer and a poet, and his Amarkosha are a vocabulary of Sanskrit roots, homonyms and synonyms.

• Dhanvantri: He was a great physician.

• Harisena: He is known to have composed the Prayag Prasasti or Allahabad Pillar Inscription.

• Kalidasa: He is the immortal poet and playwright of India, and a peerless genius whose works became famous worldwide in modern world. Malavikagnimitra, Abhijnanashakuntalam and Vikramorvashi were written by Kalidasa.

• Kahapanaka: He was an astrologer.

• Sanku: He was a pioneer in the field of architecture.

• Varahamihira: He was an eminent astronomer and mathematician. He wrote three important books: Panchasiddhantika, Brihat Samhita and Brihat Jataka.

• Vararuchi: He was a grammarian and a Sanskrit scholar. Vararuchi is said to be the author of Prakrit Prakasha, which is the first Grammar of Prakrit Language.

• Vetalbhatta: He was a magician.

• It was during his time that the Chinese traveller Fa-Hien/ Fa-hsien visited India. Hiuen Tsang visited India during the rule of Emperor Harsha Vardhana.

• The successors of Chandragupta II had to face an invasion by the Hunas from Central Asia in the second half of the Fifth century AD. Although initially the Gupta king Skandagupta took effective measures to stem the march of the Hunas into India, his successors proved to be weak and were unable to cope with the Huna invaders.