Tripurā in Tripura Rahasya is presented as the supreme, nondual Consciousness, identified with the Divine Mother or Śakti, who is at once the Absolute (Brahman) and the inner Self (Ātman) of all beings. She is pure, undifferentiated awareness, the silent witness (sākṣin) that underlies every experience and remains unchanged amid the play of phenomena. In this sense, Tripurā is not merely a mythic goddess or a localized deity, but the very ground of existence, the one Reality that Advaita speaks of, expressed in Shākta language and symbolism.

The name “Tripurā” itself points to her relation to “the three,” especially the three states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. She is the substratum and inner seer of these three “cities,” pervading them while remaining untouched by their limitations. The text extends this vision to other fundamental triads: the three worlds, the three guṇas, and the three divisions of time—past, present, and future. In each case, Tripurā is both the source from which these triads arise and the transcendent reality that is not confined by them.

Philosophically, Tripurā is described as Para Brahman, the attributeless, unmanifest Absolute, yet simultaneously as the dynamic power (Śakti) through which the universe is manifested and sustained. This dynamism does not introduce duality, because the power and its possessor are not ultimately two; the same nondual Consciousness appears as both the stillness of Brahman and the creative play of the Goddess. Thus, Tripurā is at once the goal of realization and the very principle by which realization becomes possible.

From the standpoint of the seeker, Tripurā is identical with one’s own innermost Self. To recognize Tripurā is to discern that the apparent multiplicity of experiences, worlds, and states is nothing other than the play of one undivided awareness. The devotional orientation to the Divine Mother and the rigorous nondual insight converge here: the Goddess revered outwardly is the same Consciousness that shines inwardly as the sense of “I am.” Realization, in this vision, is the clear, unwavering recognition that Tripurā alone is real, as both the immanent presence in all triads and the transcendent reality beyond them.