The correct answer is C — this is the incorrect statement.

Ashoka's inscriptions were NOT written only in Sanskrit. They were primarily in Prakrit using the Brahmi script, and also found in Greek and Aramaic in the northwestern parts of the empire.

A is correct: Founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 321 BCE with guidance from Chanakya, after overthrowing the Nanda Dynasty.

B is correct: Under Ashoka, the empire covered almost the entire Indian subcontinent from the Himalayas to near the southern tip.

D is correct: The empire had a well-organized central bureaucracy with provincial divisions, tax collection, and law enforcement systems.