James Prinsep, a talented young man, became obsessed with deciphering the Brahmi script in India. He believed that by reading Brahmi, archaeologists would be able to uncover the hidden chapters of India's past that were locked away in unreadable inscriptions.
During his time in Benares, James discovered more examples of the Brahmi script carved into rock pillars and monuments. His desire to decipher Brahmi became an obsession and he worked tirelessly until he cracked the Brahmi alphabet.
Deciphering Brahmi was important to James because it would provide insights into South Asian history that were not found in existing stories and legends. He believed that Greek records and South Asian stories may be using different names to describe the same people.
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日本語訳を!
James began to make lists of the kings he found on the coins,trying to put them in some kind of chronological order.Part way through that project,James moved to Benares,in northeast India,to open a new mint(in building he had designed).Benares is close to many important Buddhist sites.As James traveled among them,he found more examples of the same Brahmi script carved into rock pillars and monuments.His desire to decipher Brahmi became an obsession.
He noticed that some short inscriptions on one particular Buddhist stupa,or burial ground,all ended with the same two letters.James guessed that the inscriptions might be offerings,and that the letters might stand for the Sanskrit word danam,which means“gift.”He had madd many similar guesses before,and none of them had panned out,but this time he was right.Thrilled to be getting somewhere at last,James worked feverishly day and night for months until he had cracked the Brahmi alphabet.Then he collapsed from overwork.His health broken,James was forced to leave India.
Why did deciphering Brahmi matter so much to this talented young man? That's easy.James Prinsep knew that once archaeologists could read Brahmi,they would be able to recover whole chapters of India's past that had previously been locked away behind unreadable inscriptions.For example,historians knew the names the Greeks had used for South Asian kings,but those names didn't appear in South Asian stories and legends.Prinsep thought that perhaps some of the Greek records and South Asian stories were using different names to describe the same people.It's bad enough not to be able to know about prehistoric times.But to have documents and inscriptions in your hand that might be able to answer all your questions if only you knew how to read them－well,that was enough to drive anyone to more work than was gond for him.
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本当に申し訳ないです。気をつけます。