Identify the two scripts deciphered in the 1830s by James Prinsep.
(1) Pali and Prakrit
(2) Brahmi and Kharosthi
(3) Urdu and Persian
(4) Sanskrit and Hindavi

2

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.

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.
European scholars proficient in reading Greek were instrumental in this decipherment. They observed similarities in the letters used in both scripts when writing names, such as "Apollodotus." By comparing the two scripts, they found that the symbol for "a" appeared in both. With the identification of the language in Kharosthi inscriptions as Prakrit, the decipherment process extended to reading longer inscriptions as well. This breakthrough was attributed to the work of James Prinsep.