Ashoka The Emperor Who Gave Up War

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Ashoka's inscriptions are a collection of edicts inscribed on pillars, rocks, and cave walls throughout his empire. They are crucial sources for understanding the Mauryan period's administration, religion, and society.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
a) The language of most of the inscriptions is Prakrit: This statement is correct. Emperor Ashoka used Prakrit, the language of the common people, for most of his inscriptions to ensure his message (Dhamma) was widely understood. Inscriptions in the northwestern regions also used Greek and Aramaic.
b) The script of most of the inscriptions is Brahmi: This statement is also correct. The Brahmi script was used for the majority of the inscriptions, especially those in the central and eastern parts of the empire. [8, 10] In the northwest, the Kharosthi script was used. [10]

Step 3: Final Answer:
Since both statements are true, the correct option is (iii) in the original image, which corresponds to option (C).

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to name the individual who first deciphered the ancient scripts used in the edicts of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The first person to successfully decipher the Ashokan inscriptions was James Prinsep, a British antiquary and scholar who was an official of the East India Company.
In 1837, Prinsep deciphered the Brahmi script, which was used for most of Ashoka's edicts. This breakthrough was monumental as it unlocked a vast amount of information about the Mauryan Empire and Ashoka's reign, including his policies on Dhamma, administration, and the spread of Buddhism. His work laid the foundation for the study of ancient Indian epigraphy and history.

Step 3: Final Answer:
James Prinsep was the first to succeed in reading the inscriptions of Ashoka.