This, it is said, is the universal form of the primordial substance, whose vastness cannot be measured; no one can truly count the cycles of their coming and going, nor can any human, with mere mortal eyes, perceive the mysterious courses of the celestial luminaries. Now, listen to how the blessed Lord Maheśvara became the destroyer of cities, and how he burned them. Please, tell us in detail: how was Tripura, the formidable city built by Maya the magician, consumed by the god with a single arrow? We ask you this again and again, with deep reverence—how did this come to pass, O bestower of honor? Hear then the tale of how the god destroyed Tripura. Maya, the great magician and master of illusions, an asura of formidable power, was the creator of that city. After being defeated in a great battle, Maya undertook intense austerities. While he was engaged in this penance, the Daityas, moved by compassion for him, also committed themselves to severe austerities on his behalf. Among these mighty ones were Vidyunmali, strong beyond measure, and Taraka, renowned for his valor. Empowered by Maya’s own energy and remaining at his side, these two performed their austerities together, appearing as if they embodied the three worlds, or as three blazing fires. The Danavas, their penance so intense it seemed to burn the three worlds, endured every hardship: lying on water during the winter, enduring the fivefold heat in summer. Through the rains and beneath the open sky, they wore away their bodies, subsisting only on fruits, roots, flowers, and water—food dear to those who serve in ascetic devotion. At other times they ate whatever they could find, clothed in bark smeared with mud, immersing themselves in both clear and muddy ponds alike. Their bodies grew fleshless and thin, with veins standing out; the radiance of their forms seemed swept away by the power of their austerity. All the worlds became dim, speech itself grew feeble, as if the very universe was scorched by the three fires of the Danavas’ penance. At last, before them appeared Pitamaha, the grandsire of the world. The heroes, seeing him arrive suddenly, offered him praise, honoring their grandsire Brahma. Brahma, seeing the Danavas aglow with the heat of their austerities, spoke to them, his eyes and face shining with joy: “I have come, O children, pleased by your austerity, to grant you a boon. Ask for whatever you desire, whatever you wish—speak it now.” Hearing this, they approached Pitamaha. Visvakarma Maya, his eyes wide with delight, addressed him: “O god, once the Daityas were defeated by the gods in the battle of Taraka. They were struck down, slain by weapons, and, pursued by enmity, fled in terror from the gods. We found neither refuge nor safety, though we searched for shelter. By the power of our austerity and our devotion to you, I wish to build a fortress that even the gods would find difficult to overcome. Let this triple fortress, O bestower of boons, be for my sake—let it be invulnerable to those born of earth, to those born of water, to the curses of sages, to the weapons of the gods, and to the gods themselves, O Lord of creatures. Let Tripura be unassailable, if it pleases you.” Thus addressed by Visvakarma, Brahma laughed and replied to Maya, leader of the demon hosts: “Immortality is not granted to one of wicked conduct, O Danava. Therefore, let the construction of a fortress be undertaken at once.” Hearing the grandsire’s words, Maya began the task. With palms joined, Maya again addressed Brahma, born from the lotus: “Let it be that whoever destroys the fortress with a single arrow, released just once, may slay equally in battle; let the remainder be invulnerable.” “So be it,” said Brahma to Maya. As if in a dream, the vision appeared and vanished there. When the grandsire departed, the demons left, with Maya as their leader. Rejoicing at the granting of these boons, and empowered by their great ascetic power, Maya, the great-minded Danava, stood foremost among them. He resolved to build the fortress and pondered: “How might such a fortress be made by me, since Tripura was constructed by my own hands? That divine city will be inhabited by me alone, not by others, without doubt; and as it cannot be destroyed by a single arrow, so it shall be.” Maya considered further: “The gods must arrange according to my plan; the extent of each city shall be a hundred yojanas. The breadth of each shall also be a hundred yojanas. At the conjunction of the Pushya star, the construction will be completed, and the city will be ancient. At the conjunction of Pushya, they will unite in the sky; joined at Pushya, whoever reaches them— with a single blow, hundreds of ancient cities will be destroyed. One city of iron shall be on earth, one of silver in the sky, and above the silver one, a city of gold.” Thus, with these three cities—joined by spans of a hundred yojanas and difficult to approach—Tripura would be formed. Adorned with towers, engines for hurling hundreds of missiles, wheels, spears, and shaking mechanisms, with gates as grand as the mountains Mandara and Meru, and shining rampart peaks, Tripura was to be a marvel of fortification. Protected by Maya and called Satāraka, secure and well-guarded, wreathed in lightning—who indeed could destroy Tripura, except the one blessed with three eyes? Thus filled with purpose, the mighty demon, by the power of divine means, constructed Tripura, the fortress, following the workings of his mind. Here stood the rampart, there the path, elsewhere the gateway; here the towered gate, here the towered gateway. The royal road was broad, the streets and lanes well-laid, assembly halls and squares all present, and the city rose in splendor, a testament to Maya’s power and ingenuity.