[INDOLOGY] Internalizing sectarian markers in poetry?

[Rolf Heinrich Koch]

I asked AI and this is the answer:

A traditional Sanskrit formulation of the pattern would be:

    *अन्तरङ्गधर्मस्य बहिरङ्गचिह्नरूपेण रूपकम्*
    “A metaphor in which an inner spiritual quality is presented as the
    corresponding external religious emblem.”

So, if you need a single Sanskrit technical term, *रूपक (rūpaka)* is the 
safest and most widely accepted answer. If you're studying Sant, Nāth, 
Sikh, or Vedāntic literature, one could further describe it as the 
*internalization of ritual symbols through metaphor*.


Best

Heiner


Am 09.06.2026 um 07:44 schrieb Westin Harris via INDOLOGY:
> 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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-- 
Dr. R. H. Koch - Germany/Sri Lanka
www.rolfheinrichkoch.wordpress.com/
www.ummaggajataka.wordpress.com
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