The inscriptions of Ashoka and Kharavela were primarily written in which of the following languages?
Prakrit
The edicts of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka were mostly composed in Prakrit, written largely in the Brahmi script (and Kharosthi in the north-west).
Similarly, the Hathigumpha inscription of King Kharavela of Kalinga was also written in Prakrit using the Brahmi script.
Prakrit was the common spoken language of the people, so rulers used it to make their proclamations widely understood, whereas Sanskrit came into wider inscriptional use only in later periods.
Hence, these inscriptions were primarily written in Prakrit.
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Important Questions from Ancient History
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Which one of the following was NOT a way in which kings in ancient India attempted to claim a higher status?
Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists:
List-I
(unit in use in early India)
List-II (content) A. Muhurta 1. Measure of weight B. Raktika 2. Measure of time C. Angula 3. Metre of poetry D. Pada 4. Measure of length In the Mesopotamian records, which one of the following terms was used for the Indus Valley (Harappans)?
In Egypt, ancient mummies can be found to have their arteries intact due to well preserved:
