In the late eighteenth century, why did the European scholars, along with Indian pandits, compare contemporary Bengali and Devanagari manuscripts with older specimens?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The foundation of most scripts used in modern Indian languages traces back to Brahmi, the script employed in Asokan inscriptions. In the late eighteenth century, European scholars collaborated with Indian pandits to conduct a reverse process, comparing contemporary Bengali and Devanagari manuscripts with older specimens.
Early scholars studying ancient inscriptions often mistakenly assumed them to be in Sanskrit, when in reality, they were written in Prakrit, an earlier vernacular language. It was only after years of meticulous investigations by several epigraphists that James Prinsep succeeded in deciphering Asokan Brahmi in 1838.