Mara (demon)
| Translations of Māra | |
|---|---|
The demons of Mara, palm leaf manuscript, Nalanda, Bihar | |
| English | Mara; Demon |
| Sanskrit | मार, Māra |
| Pali | Māra |
| Burmese | မာရ်နတ် (MLCTS: Marnat) |
| Chinese | 天魔; 魔羅; 魔罗 (Pinyin: Tiānmó; Móluó; Móluó) |
| Indonesian | Mara; Setan; Iblis |
| Japanese | 魔羅; マーラ; 天魔 (Rōmaji: Mara; Māra; Tenma) |
| Khmer | មារ (UNGEGN: Méru) |
| Korean | 마라 (RR: Mara) |
| Sinhala | මාරයා (Mārayā) |
| Tibetan | བདུད (Wylie: bdud) |
| Thai | มาร (RTGS: Māra) |
| Vietnamese | Thiên Ma |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
Mara, in Buddhism, is a malignant celestial Asura king who tried to stop Prince Siddhartha from Awakening by trying to seduce him with his celestial Army and a vision of beautiful women who, in various legends, are often said to be Mara's daughters.
In Buddhist cosmology, Mara is associated with death, rebirth and desire. Nyanaponika Thera has described Mara as "the personification of the forces antagonistic to enlightenment."
He is Yama's fearsome persona and all beings associated with him, darkness and death, become forces of Mara. These forces consist of Asuras, Rakshasa, Pisacas, Aratis and animals.