UPSC Prelims 2016 Q39: Ancient History – Mauryan Empire

UPSC Prelims 2016, General Studies Paper I · Ancient History

Who of the following had first deciphered the edicts of Emperor Ashoka?

Answer: (b) James Prinsep

Explanation

Decipherment of the edicts of Emperor Ashoka

James Prinsep, an officer of the East India Company's mint, deciphered the Brahmi script in 1837.

He also deciphered Kharoshthi.

The edicts spoke of a king called Devanampiya Piyadassi, later identified as Ashoka.

Scholar	Known for
(a) Georg Buhler	German scholar of Indian palaeography and law books
(b) James Prinsep	First deciphered Brahmi and the Ashokan edicts (1837)
(c) Max Muller	Edited the Rigveda; Sacred Books of the East
(d) William Jones	Founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784); translated Shakuntala

Scripts of the Ashokan edicts:

Answer: (b) James Prinsep.

(a) Incorrect. Georg Buhler studied Indian scripts later; he was not the first to decipher the edicts.
(b) CORRECT. James Prinsep first deciphered the edicts of Emperor Ashoka in 1837.
(c) Incorrect. Max Muller worked on the Vedas, not on Ashokan inscriptions.
(d) Incorrect. William Jones founded the Asiatic Society but did not decipher Brahmi.

James Prinsep (1837): deciphered Brahmi and Kharoshthi; read the Ashokan edicts of 'Devanampiya Piyadassi'.

James Prinsep deciphered Ashoka's edicts (1837).

Choosing William Jones because he founded the Asiatic Society.
Forgetting that the edicts use the title Piyadassi, not the name Ashoka, in most places.
Thinking all edicts are in Brahmi; some are in Kharoshthi, Greek and Aramaic.

Prinsep = Brahmi, 1837. Jones = Asiatic Society, 1784.

NCERT Class XII — Themes in Indian History Part I, Ch 2 (Kings, Farmers and Towns)
Asiatic Society — Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1837), James Prinsep