The following item consists of two Statements I and II. You are to examine these two statements carefully and select the answer to these items using the code given below. **Statements:** I. James Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts which were used in the earliest inscriptions and coins. II. James Prinsep found that most of the scripts mentioned a king referred to as Piyadassi-meaning 'pleasant to behold'. **Codes:**
CAPF 2014
A. Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I
B. Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I
C. Statement I is true and Statement II is false
D. Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Answer: Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I
Option b is the correct answer.
Statement I is true: James Prinsep was an officer in the mint of the East India Company and he deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts which were used in the earliest inscriptions and coins.
Statement II is true: James Prinsep found that most of the scripts mentioned a king referred to as Piyadassi-meaning 'pleasant to behold'. This king was later identified as Ashoka, the Mauryan emperor. However,
Statement II is not the correct explanation of
Statement I. The fact that the scripts mentioned a king called Piyadassi is not the reason or explanation for James Prinsep's decipherment of these scripts. The last two letters at the end of one of the inscriptions in Brahmi were guessed to form the word "danam" (donation), which appears at the end of most inscriptions at Sanchi and Bharhut. This hypothesis permitted the complete decipherment of the Brahmi script by James Prinsep in 1837. img-13.jpeg