Mahatripurasundari (महात्रिपुरसुन्दरी, IAST: Mahātripurasundarī) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She who is the supreme beauty of the three worlds”. From mahā (great), tripura (three cities or three realms — waking, dreaming, and deep sleep), and sundarī (she who is beautiful), this is Lalitā's most exalted name, proclaiming her as transcendent beauty pervading all states of existence.

Meaning, etymology & significance

Tripura refers simultaneously to the three mystical cities of the demon Tripurāsura (whom Śiva destroyed), to the three levels of reality (gross, subtle, causal), and to the three states of consciousness (jāgrat, svapna, suṣupti). Lalitā as Mahātripurasundarī dissolves all distinctions between these realms, radiating a beauty that is not merely aesthetic but ontological — the luminous loveliness of pure Being. This is the central, all-encompassing name of the Śrīvidyā Goddess.

Tripurasundarī is one of the ten Mahāvidyās and is the presiding deity of the Lalitā Sahasranāma itself; the prefix Mahā elevates her above all other manifestations. Pronounced mah-haa-tri-pu-ruh-sun-duh-ree; Tripurasundari and Sundari are popular shorter forms used as given names.

Advertisement

Scriptural source

Mahatripurasundari appears in the Lalitha Sahasranama, among the sacred names of Lalitha.

Astrology — nakshatra, rashi & numerology

By the standard Vedic correspondence between a name’s first syllable and the lunar mansion, Mahatripurasundari aligns with the Magha nakshatra, under the Simha rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 3.