Who deciphered the Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts used in the earliest inscriptions and coins?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → James Prinsep
In the 1830s 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.
Note: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| 13-05 S1* | 13-05 S2* 19-05 S1 | – | 05-06 S3* 13-06 S2* 14-06 S2* 21-06 S1 02-07 S3* | – |
* A similar question.
NCERT (2026-27): “1. Prinsep and Piyadassi … 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.…” |