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

James Prinsep is the correct answer because, in 1837, he successfully deciphered the Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts, which allowed for the first reading of Ashoka’s inscriptions. While William Jones is a tempting choice due to his role in founding the Asiatic Society and identifying Chandragupta Maurya, he did not decipher the Ashokan edicts. This question tests the core concept of Indian epigraphy and the 19th-century breakthroughs in reconstructing ancient Indian history through script decipherment.