This book is a dialog of instructions given to the seeker Parasuirana by his guru Dattatreya. The story unfolds through the medium of tales which delight and amsure, but also open the door to the cave of wisdom and invite entry to all.

Tripura Rahasya was a favorite of Sri Ramana Maharshi and was often quoted by the saint. This 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.