Yes, Ahsoka is drawn from Aśoka. Another being of the same species who is also a Jedi is named “Shaak Ti”; and of course Anakin Sky walker’s secret wife is named Padme Amidala. George Lucas was quite fond of Indian history, religion, and mythology from his reading of Joseph Campbell and drew heavily from them to name his characters.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 11, 2023, at 3:04 AM, Charles DiSimone <disimone@alumni.stanford.edu> wrote:

Dear Herman Tieken,

I don't know if Ahsoka is related to Aśoka but there is a long history of Sanskrit and related influence in Star Wars. I recell reading that Yoda takes his name from yoddhṛ. The Duel of the Fates song from Episode 1 has its chorus sung in (mangled) Sanskrit. Additionally, Tibetan and Kalmyk were supposedly the inspiration, in part, of the language of the Ewoks.

With my best wishes,
Charles

Prof. Dr. Charles DiSimone
Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies
Department of Languages and Cultures
Ghent University

On Wed, Oct 11, 2023 at 9:44 AM Tieken, H.J.H. (Herman) via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

Dear List members,

I saw announced a sequel to Star Wars which features a character called Ahsoka. I am curious to know if this is a mangled version of Aśoka, via Ashoka (in Dutch papers the aspiration in the name Gandhi is often misplaced: Ghandi).

with kind regards, Herman

Herman Tieken

Stationsweg 58

2515 BP Den Haag

The Netherlands

00 31 (0)70 2208127

website: hermantieken.com

The Aśoka Inscriptions: Analysing a corpus, New Delhi: Primus Books, 2023.

https://primusbooks.com/ancient/the-asoka-inscriptions-analysing-a-corpus-by-herman-tieken/

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