What is the meaning of 'Piyadassi', the title used by Emperor Asoka?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Pleasant to behold
Piyadassi, the title by which most of Asoka’s inscriptions refer to the king, means ‘pleasant to behold’.
NCERT (2026-27): “1. Prinsep and Piyadassi … Some of the most momentous developments in Indian epigraphy took place in the 1830s. This was when James Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi, two scripts used in the earliest inscriptions and coins. He found that most of these mentioned a king referred to as Piyadassi – meaning ‘pleasant to behold’; there were a few inscriptions which also referred to the king as Asoka, one of the most famous rulers known from Buddhist texts.… 7.3 Historical evidence from inscriptions … Note that the name of the ruler, Asoka, is not mentioned in the inscription (Source 10). What is used instead are titles adopted by the ruler – devanampiya, often translated as ‘beloved of the gods’ and piyadassi, or ‘pleasant to behold’. The name Asoka is mentioned in some other inscriptions, which also contain these titles.…” |