Reading room

Tripurā Rahasya (The Mystery of Tripurā)

Dattatreya

A work in three sections, two of which survive: that of the goddess's greatness (Māhātmya) and that of knowledge (Jñāna), the latter in twenty-two chapters. Paraśurāma, after his defeat by Rāma and twelve years of worship of the goddess, recalls the words of the avadhūta Saṃvarta and goes to Dattātreya on Mount Gandhamādana. The teacher shows him, through stories such as that of Prince Hemacūḍa and his wife Hemalekhā, that consciousness alone is real and that the world is its reflection. Ramana Maharshi quoted it to his visitors, and his ashram published Munagala Venkataramiah's English translation.