The Sanskrit word 'Tripura' is a combination of two Sanskrit words; "Tri" meaning "tráyas (three)" and "pura" meaning a city or citadel, but also understood as referring to three cities or citadels "built of gold, silver, and iron, in the sky, air, and earth, by Maya for the Asuras, and burnt by Śiva" referring to the legend of the three cities destroyed by Shiva. However, "Tripura" can also mean "Śiva Śaktir (Shiva Shakti)" while "sundarī" means "a beautiful woman"