Question

UPSC Prelims 2016 Question:

Who of the following had first deciphered the edicts of Emperor Ashoka?

  1. 1. Georg Buhler
  2. 2. James Prinsep
  3. 3. Max Muller
  4. 4. William Jones

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2: James Prinsep

Detailed Solution

Explanation:

  • James Prinsep, an Englishman, managed to decipher the long-forgotten Brahmi script (Language was Prakrit or Pali) in which inscriptions were written.  The inscriptions could be classified as Major Rock Edicts; Minor Rock Edicts; Pillar Edicts inscribed on tall stone pillars; and miscellaneous edicts.

  • Prinsep came to India in 1819 and worked in the Calcutta (Kolkata) and Banaras (Varanasi) Mints and in 1832 became the secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

  • He identified Ashoka as the king referenced as Devanampiya Piyadassi (“Beloved of the Gods” and “Gracious of Mien”) in the edicts, and brought the king's remarkable story to light in 1923.

Therefore, option (2) is the correct answer.

Knowledge Box

Georg Buhler (German Indologist in India):

  • Scholar of ancient Indian languages and law
  • Translation of the Apastamba, Dharmasutra etc.
  • Professor Max Muller's monumental compilation and translation of  ‘the Sacred Books of the East’

Max Muller (German scholar of Sanskrit scriptures):

  • Popularized the Rigveda in Europe
  • Wrote a  book named ‘India: What Can it Teach Us’

William Jones (British mathematician):

  • Appointed as puisne judge to the Supreme Court at Fort William in Calcutta 1783
  • Set up the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784
  • Translated Laws of Manu (Manusmriti), Shakuntala, Ritu Samhara, and Gita Govinda into English

Subject: History | Mauryan Empire

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