Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 997: Shri Srimat Tripura sundari (ōṃ śrīmattripurasundaryai namaḥ)

The Divine Mother is the Maha Tripurasundari Devi.

She is decorating the Tripura. Earth, heaven and netherworld are three Lokas. Humans on earth have higher maturity. Devas are supposed to be living in netherworld. Heaven is in between earth and netherworld.  Earthly people have happiness and sorrow almost equally. In the netherworld, there is more happiness and less sorrow. In heaven there is no sorrow. All three worlds are similar in their planning.

In earth, the comfort levels are there as needed. When we analyze anything on earth, there is beauty. Even the desert full of sand or the new moon day with darkness are all beautiful in their own respects. They are attractive to the human mind. They are divine in nature to be mediated. People with understanding visualize the Divine Mother’s presence everywhere on earth.

The three states of waking, dreaming and sleeping are also called Tripura. In sleep, the devotee lives in Atma Rupam. That is quite like Jada stage. The Divine Mother stays in all these three stages and provides life with beauty and auspiciousness.

Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra are the Trinity. Tri Murthy’s bodies are also called Tripura. The whole universe is joined together to form Tripura. The Divine Mother is spreading all over the universe in all natural things. She is called Tripurasundari.

 She is the beautiful spouse of Tripura, Shiva. He has the body of

three divinities Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudran. Due to Shiva’s

desire these bodies appeared. In west Brahma, in Centre Vishnu,

and in east Rudran. Brahma has five faces, four arms, lotus

complexion, softness, yellowish Mixed with white colour. Vishnu

has one face, four arms, conch, disc, club and lotus; He is

bluish/black in colour. Rudran has five faces, four White

Heads. The colour of white clouds and bearing the crescent moon

in His Matted hair. Since these bodies came from Shiva, He

became Tripura, according to Kalika Purana. The Divine Mother

is the beautiful spouse of Tripura.

Gross, subtle and casual are three body forms: waking,

dreaming, and sleeping are three stages, and She is the witness to

make them great and beautiful. She is the greatest Empress of

the three Lokas.

Tripura is Shivan and Tripurasundari is His spouse. There are

many Meanings for the word Tripura. They are summarized as

follows: The Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwara, the

three sacrificial fires (grahapatya, avahaniya and daksina); the

three powers of will, knowledge, and action; the three worlds

(earth, heaven and netherworld); the three Gayatri meter (as it

has three lines to a verge); the three divine worlds of

Kailasa, Vaikuntha, and Satya Loka; the three varnas or castes

(Brahmana, Kshatriya, and Vaisya); the three gunas, and all such

traits are known as Tripura.

Kalika Purana explains Tripura in terms of the Trinity of 

Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra. “Maheshwara in accordance with

His own will divided His body into three, the head became

Brahma’s body with five faces, four arms and the white 

complexion of the pericarp of the lotus. The middle Portion

became the body of Vishnu, with one face, blue /black colour, 

four arms holding the conch, disc, club, and lotus. The lower

portion became the body of Maheshwara (Rudran) with five 

faces, the colour of white clouds and bearing the crescent moon

in His matted hair. Since Maheshwara transformed Himself into

this Trinity, He is known as Tripura.” Tripurasundari is the 

spouse of that Tripura. She is the Shakti of the Whole Universe.

The Divine Mother is the Maha Tripurasundari Devi.

 

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 17 October 2022; updated 08 November 2025.

References:

1.The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published by Mata Amritanandam in California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2, Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Tiruchirappalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3. The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamil Nadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Sith-Bavandar.