2016 GS Paper I, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2016 · GS Paper I

Question 39: History and Culture

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

aGeorg Bühler
bJames Prinsep
cMax Müller
dWilliam Jones

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).

James Prinsep, an official of the Calcutta Mint and secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, deciphered the Brahmi script in 1837, which unlocked the edicts of Ashoka. Georg Buhler later edited and studied many Indian inscriptions, William Jones founded the Asiatic Society, and Max Muller was a Sanskrit scholar who edited the Rigveda.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Buhler studied inscriptions later; he was not the first to decipher them.
  • (b) Right: James Prinsep first deciphered the Ashokan edicts.
  • (c) Max Muller was a Vedic scholar, not an epigraphist of Ashoka.
  • (d) William Jones founded the Asiatic Society but did not decipher Brahmi.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2016, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.