A manuscript of Dhammapada written in Kharoshthi script was found from which of the following places?

Correct option is D

The correct answer is (D) Khotan

Explanation:
• The Gāndhārī Dharmapada is a Buddhist text written in the Gāndhārī language and Kharoshthi script. A significant manuscript of this work was discovered near Khotan in East Turkestan (modern-day Xinjiang, China) in 1892.
• This find was revolutionary because it proved that the Kharoshthi script and Gāndhārī language were used for Buddhist literature outside the immediate northwestern frontiers of India.
• The manuscript dates back to approximately the 1st or 2nd century CE, making it one of the oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts.
• Khotan was a major center on the Silk Road where Indian culture, especially Buddhism, flourished and acted as a bridge for the transmission of Buddhism to China.

Information Booster:
• Kharoshthi script is written from right to left, unlike Brahmi which is written from left to right.
• It was primarily used in the Gandhara region (modern Pakistan and Afghanistan) during the Kushan period.

Additional Knowledge:
• Turfan (Option A): An important site for Tocharian and Old Uyghur Buddhist texts, but not specifically the primary site for the Kharoshthi Dhammapada.
• Kashagara (Option B): A key Silk Road city, but the major Kharoshthi manuscript finds are more closely associated with the Khotan region.
• Kuchi (Option C): Famous for the Kuchean language and significant Buddhist cave paintings, but the Kharoshthi Dhammapada is specifically a Khotan find.