Identify the kings/rulers, whose coins contain the names of kings written in Greek and Kharosthi scripts?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Indo-Greek
Kharosthi was the script used in the inscriptions of the northwest. It was deciphered with the help of the coins of the Indo-Greek kings who ruled over the area in c. second-first centuries BCE. These coins carry the names of the kings in both Greek and Kharosthi, so scholars who could read the Greek compared the letters of the two scripts, for names such as Apollodotus.
NCERT (2025-26): “7.2 How Kharosthi was read … The story of the decipherment of Kharosthi, the script used in inscriptions in the northwest, is different. Here, finds of coins of Indo-Greek kings who ruled over the area (c. second-first centuries BCE) have facilitated matters. These coins contain the names of kings written in Greek and Kharosthi scripts. European scholars who could read the former compared the letters. For instance, the symbol for ‘a’ could be found in both scripts for writing names such as Apollodotus. With Prinsep identifying the language of the Kharosthi inscriptions as Prakrit, it became possible to read longer inscriptions as well.…” |