Target Exam

CUET

Subject

History

Chapter

Ancient India: Kings, Farmers and Towns

Question:

James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts in _________.

Options:

1930s

1830s

1840s

1850s

Correct Answer:

1830s

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (2) → 1830s

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.