Q. Consider the following observations about the inscriptions of Asoka: They used different scripts in different geographical locations They used different languages in different geographical locations Asoka has been mostly referred by his name Asokavardhna Which among the above observations is/ are correct?
Answer: Only 1 & 2 are correct
Notes: We all know that Asoka’s full name was Asokvardhana. But in his inscriptions he is always called Devnampiya or Pyadarshin, except in the Maski version of his minor Rock Edict I where along he is designated Devanampiya Asoka. So, statement 3 is eliminated. The inscriptions of asoka were for educating the common people and that is why they used the scripts which people could read. So, Greek and Aramaic were used in Qandhar and Jalalabad, Kharosthi was used in Shahbazgarhi and Manshera. Brahmi was used in all his inscriptions on rocks and pillars scattered all over India. So statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is also correct because Prakrit, Greek and Aramaic languages were used in the inscriptions.

5

Above question is part of 10000+ MCQs for UPSC (Prelims) Paper-1 course in GKToday Android app.