[INDOLOGY] Internalizing sectarian markers in poetry?

[Westin Harris]

Dear colleagues,

Many thanks to everyone who has responded off-list. For a bit more context,
the word I had encountered was a South Asian term, not a Western term. I am
fairly certain it was a compound formed of two constituent parts, one of
which may have been "rūpa" or "guṇa" or something like that---though I
could be misremembering this last point.

It remains unclear to me whether the term was used in premodern sources or
if it was a modern term, but it was definitely a Sanskrit or Sanskrit-ish
compound.

The hunt continues...

*Sincerely, *


*Westin Harris, PhD*

Resident Scholar in Himalayan Cultures

Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art


Review Editor

Nidān: International Journal for Indian Studies

https://ucdavis.academia.edu/WestinHarris


On Sun, Jun 7, 2026 at 4:26 PM Westin Harris <wlharris at ucdavis.edu> wrote:

> Dear esteemed Indologists,
>
> I am trying to remember a term I once encountered that refers to a
> particular poetic modality or topos that recurs throughout pre-modern South
> Asian poetry -- for example, in the dohākośa and caryāgīti of Buddhist
> siddhas, in Nāth bāṇī attributed to figures like Carpaṭnāth and Jalandhara,
> and in Sikh gurbāṇī. Specifically, I am talking about the association of
> "external" sectarian/sartorial markers with "internal" qualities, and even
> the eschewal of the former in favor of the latter.
>
> For example (these are paraphrased/hypothetical, not exact quotes), a bāṇī
> attributed to Carpaṭnāth might say something like "I don't wear the sacred
> thread because truth is my sacred thread. I don't wear the kundal earrings
> because the guru's words are my earrings." Or a song attributed to a
> Buddhist siddha might say "What need is there for shaving my head when
> wisdom is my shaven head? What need is there for wearing robes when I am
> robed with compassion?" We see similar verses attributed to Guru Nanak in
> the Sidh Ghoṣṭi, and also attributed to Kabirdās, romantic poets, etc.
>
> I remember reading somewhere that there is a word for this type of poetic
> modality, but for the life of me I cannot remember the word or the source.
> I might be misremembering. I would be very grateful for your help in
> remembering this term and for any secondary sources you can recommend on
> the topic.
>
> Thank you.
>
> *Sincerely, *
>
>
> *Westin Harris, PhD*
>
> Resident Scholar in Himalayan Cultures
>
> Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
>
>
> Review Editor
>
> Nidān: International Journal for Indian Studies
>
> https://ucdavis.academia.edu/WestinHarris
>
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