James Prinsep
(1799–1840) Amateur Indologist and British official.
Prinsep was the first modern person to understand the Brahmi
script in 1837, allowing him to read the Mauryan emperor Ashoka's (r. 269–32
B.C.E.) edicts.
Unfortunately, his career was cut short by an early death, a
pattern that colonial officials in British India were all too acquainted with.
Maurya dynasty is another name for the Maurya dynasty.
