Tripura Rahaysa

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"This new edition, now with a glossary, invites a fresh reading of the Tripura Rahasya, with its winsome intertwining of stories and argument."

—Thomas B. Coburn,
St. Lawrence University

slide 7 of 7

Tripura Rahasya: The Secret of the Supreme Goddess, a favorite of Sri Ramana Maharshi from which he often quoted, is an ancient Sanskrit work and one of the greatest classics of Hindu spirituality.

It has been compared by the great scholar, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, to Plato's Republic, inasmuch as it outlines the ideal city-state of a characteristically Indian utopia. This is the "City of Resplendent Wisdom" ruled by a philosopher-king, understood in Hindu terminology as the man who is liberated in this life (jivan-mukta). The citizens of this city, seen allegorically, are all of the human faculties which have been illuminated by the supreme Goddess.

Ably translated into English by Swami Sri Ramananda Saraswathi, Tripura Rahasya: The Secret Of The Supreme Goddess is essentially a dialogue of instruction given by the guru Dattatreya to his the truth seeker Parasurama. Through a series of stories that can be read with amusement and the greatest of imaginative pleasures, the tales also provide a series of wisdoms and insights that illustrate and represent theological implications within Hindu theology and Goddess traditions. Tripura Rahasya is a confidently recommended addition to Comparative Religion collections in general, and Hindu Studies reading lists in particular.

— Midwest Book Review