Which of the following statements are TRUE regarding the limitations of inscriptional evidence in India?

A. Letters of some inscriptions are very faintly engraved.
B. Routine agricultural practices and joys and sorrows of daily existence were recorded in all inscriptions.
C. Several thousand inscriptions have been discovered and all have been deciphered, published and translated.
D. Some inscriptions convey the vague idea of their making.
E. It is not always easy to be sure about the exact meaning of the words used in inscriptions.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

A, D, E only

The correct answer is Option (2) → A, D, E only

The correct statements are:

A. Letters of some inscriptions are very faintly engraved.
D. Some inscriptions convey the vague idea of their making.
E. It is not always easy to be sure about the exact meaning of the words used in inscriptions.

By now it is probably evident that there are limits to what epigraphy can reveal. Sometimes, there are technical limitations: letters are very faintly engraved (Statement A), and thus reconstructions are uncertain. Also, inscriptions may be damaged or letters missing. Besides, it is not always easy to be sure about the exact meaning of the words used in inscriptions (Statement E), some of which may be specific to a particular place or time. If you go through an epigraphical journal, you will realise that scholars are constantly debating and discussing alternative ways of reading inscriptions. Although several thousand inscriptions have been discovered, not all have been deciphered, published and translated. Besides, many more inscriptions must have existed, which have not survived the ravages of time. So what is available at present is probably only a fraction of what was inscribed.

There is another, perhaps more fundamental, problem: not everything that we may consider politically or economically significant was necessarily recorded in inscriptions. For instance, routine agricultural practices and the joys and sorrows of daily existence find no mention in inscriptions, which focus, more often than not, on grand, unique events. Besides, the content of inscriptions almost invariably projects the perspective of the person(s) who commissioned them. As such, they need to be juxtaposed with other perspectives so as to arrive at a better understanding of the past (Statement D).

Incorrect statements with correction:

B. Routine agricultural practices and joys and sorrows of daily existence were NOT recorded in all inscriptions. Rather, we do not find their mention in inscriptions.

C. Several thousand inscriptions have been discovered and NOT all have been deciphered, published and translated.