By Swami Harshananda
Tripurā literally means ‘one endowed with three bodies or forms’.
Significance of Goddess Tripurā[edit]
Tripurā is the most popular form of the Mother-goddess associated with the creation, sustenance and destruction of the world. She is known as Tripurā because she has a threefold form of:
The triangle is her symbol.
Other Characteristics[edit]
- She is the totality of the three guṇas and their operation:
- Sattva
- Rajas
- Tamas
- She is sometimes included among the ten goddesses called Daśamahāvidyās and identified with Tripurasundarī.
- She is the totality of Vāṇī (Sarasvatī), Ramā (Lakṣmī) and Rudrāṇī (Pārvatī) as also of Brahma, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara (Śiva).
Iconographic Representation[edit]
Her iconographic description given in the work Tripurārahasya is as follows:
- She has twelve arms carrying the characteristic weapons of all the three deities.
- She has ten faces with three eyes each.
- She is extremely beautiful.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore