Target Exam

CUET

Subject

History

Chapter

Ancient India: Kings, Farmers and Towns

Question:

James Prinsep deciphered the ________ script.

Options:

Aramaic

Greek

Kharosthi

Devnagari

Correct Answer:

Kharosthi

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (3) → Kharosthi

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.