A knowledge of the Ashokan edicts or inscriptions, is essential for a study of Indian epigraphy and
archaeology. Ignorance of ancient Indian scripts and the consequent inability to read inscriptions
contributed not a little to the confused and incorrect ideas on Indian history, which prevailed in the
country for a long time. The complete reading of the Brahmi and Kharoshthi characters by Princep and
others marks the beginning of much valuable work done by European and Indian scholars, without
which our present knowledge of the early history of India would have been impossible. To a student of
the early history of India a thorough acquaintance with the various alphabets in use in ancient India and
their correlation is necessary. The great obstacle, however, to the cultivation of the study of the ancient
Indian history (especially Mauryan Period) was the absence of a single book dealing with the subject
as a whole - a book by means of which the subject could be studied without the help of a teacher.