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@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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