Sārūpya
Sārūpya, “likeness of form”
Grammar: neuter noun, the abstract noun from sarūpa (sa, the same, and rūpa, form): “sameness of form”.
Meaning: likeness of form with the devatā one worships, gained as the fruit of pūjā.
In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa it is a kind of mukti: having a form like Śrī Hari’s.
In the scriptures: in the glory of temples and of the Śiva-liṅga, Parameśvara tells Skanda that the mantra “Oṃ namaḥ Śivāya” is itself the highest state, and that Bhagavān Śiva, who grants dharma, artha, kāma and moksha, abides in the liṅga for the grace of the worlds. He then teaches the sārūpya that comes from pūjā: by Rudra-pūjā one gains Rudra-sārūpya, likeness of form with Rudra; by Vishṇu-pūjā, Vishṇu-sārūpya; by Sūrya-pūjā, Sūrya-sārūpya; and by Śakti-pūjā, Śakti-sārūpya. The full fruits of yajña, tapas and dāna are obtained (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 327).
Refused by the bhaktas. Kapila tells his mother Devahūti that the nirguṇa bhaktas delight only in his service and will not take sālokya, sārshṭi, sāmīpya, sārūpya or sāyujya even if they are given; here sārūpya is glossed as having a form like Śrī Hari’s (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapter 29). Śrī Hari tells Durvāsā that his bhaktas, content with his service, do not desire even sālokya, sāmīpya, sārūpya and sāyujya, still less svarga, which time devours (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 4).
In the Bhavishya Purāṇa: the Pratisarga Parva tells that sārūpya moksha is born of dhyāna (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 7).
In the Brahma Purāṇa: Brahmā, describing Vishṇuloka to the munis, tells that in Vishṇupura is seen the assembly of the bhaktas of Śrī Kṛshṇa who have attained sārūpya with him, a form the same as his (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 68). At the close of Śrī Kṛshṇa’s life on earth, Vyāsa tells the munis, Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa joined the ātmā with the Ātmā in the form of Vāsudeva, left the human body, and attained the threefold gati: the supreme mukti that has the form of sālokya, sārūpya and sāyujya (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 211).
Related terms: Mukti · Sālokya · Sāmīpya · Sāyujya · Pūjā
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 327
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapter 29; Skandha 9, Chapter 4
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 7
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 68, 211