12
(v) Just after the first sixty disciples were sent out on missions, when Måra is
shown trying to convince the Buddha that he had really not attained
liberation.
(vi) Just before the Buddha met the thirty Bhaddavaggiya young men, when
Måra is presented again as challenging the Buddha’s Enlightenment.
It should be noted that other encounters individually described in the Måra-
saµyutta are not included in this list, possibly because they were not connected
with any important event or decision in the life of the Buddha. Also to be stressed
is the fact that the list is at variance with the information given elsewhere in the
Påli Canon.
Not all biographies of the Buddha agree with this list, or with the timing of the
encounters, or with the words or actions attributed to Måra. The Lalitavistara,
though a later Buddhist Sanskrit work, appears to have been based either on the
introduction to the Jåtaka Commentary or on an earlier source. As such, the
divergences other than in regard to poetic exaggerations and greater emphasis on
the supernatural aspects are minimal. One important variation in the Lalitavistara
is that “Måra, the wicked one, closely followed the Bodhisattva for six years as he
was practicing austerities seeking and pursuing an entrance.” Such a long period
of surveillance suggests the function of Måradevaputta (i.e. a living being such as
a deity) rather than an encounter explainable in allegorical terms. Another
departure is that the daughters of Måra try to tempt the Buddha under the Bodhi-
tree, and their names are Rati, Arati, and T®Σˆå.
27
Whereas the Påli sources say
that the vanquished Måra drew lines on the ground with a stick or a reed, the
Lalitavistara states that Måra wrote the words “the ascetic Gotama will escape
from my realm.”
The version which reveals some very significant departures is the life of the
Buddha recorded in the Tibetan texts. As far as Rockhill’s selective translation of
the relevant material in the Dulva shows, five points have to be noted:
13
(i) Måra has made no effort to dissuade the future Buddha at the time of his
renunciation.
(ii) As the hour of Enlightenment approached, Måra went to the future
Buddha saying, “Devadatta has subdued Kapilavastu; he has seized the
palace and has crushed the Íåkyas.” He had also caused apparitions of
Yasodharå, M®gajå,
28
Gopå, Devadatta, and other Íåkyas to appear. What
followed was only an argument in which Måra failed to convince the
future Buddha. Apparently, the imagery of a great war ending with
victory over Måra does not figure in this account.
(iii) When Måra failed to prevail, his daughters, who are differently named as
Desire, Pleasure, and Delight, tried all their allurements in vain.
(iv) When the Enlightenment was attained, Måra’s bow and standard fell
from his grasp and all his cohorts, a million and thirty-six thousand in
number, fled, filled with dismay.
(v) When the Buddha was suffering from a colic after partaking of the honey
offered by the two merchants, Måra informs the Buddha that it was time
to die. But the Buddha indicates his intention to live until the faith is well
founded.
29
The Chinese AbhiniΣkramaˆa SËtra has a few more variations. For instance, it
says that Måra brought a bundle of official notices purporting to be from Íåkya
princes to dissuade the future Buddha from continuing with his quest for
deliverance.
30
Whether as a conscious effort in rationalizing this diversity of information or
as a result of concentrating on the most dramatic instances when the Buddha
encountered temptations, three events gained in popularity: namely, the
Renunciation or Great Departure; the Victory over Måra, described either as
Måravijaya or Mårayuddha (Vanquishing of Måra, or the Battle with Måra); and
the Temptation by Måra’s daughters. Each incident acquired embellishments at
14
the hands of poets and creative writers until by about the first century B.C. a
number of elements had firmly taken root:
(i) Renunciation: Måra appears in the air and talks of the imminent receipt by
the future Buddha of the gem-set wheel of Universal Monarchy. When
rejected, Måra disappears vowing to keep an eye on him like an
omnipresent shadow. When the future Buddha wishes to turn back and
see his city, the earth obliges by turning itself around like a potter’s
wheel.
(ii) Victory over Måra: Måra rides the elephant called Girimekhalå and
assaults the future Buddha along with ten squadrons or “hosts”; Måra
assumes a fearsome guise with a thousand arms; his army too assumes
fearsome forms and makes eerie noises to generate fear; rain, hail,
showers of fire, thunder, and an earthquake are also used in the process;
his final weapon is his disc which fails to harm the future Buddha;
Måra’s last step is to challenge the future Buddha’s right to the seat on
which he is seated; the earth is summoned as a witness; the earth quakes
and Måra and his hosts run in disarray. Måra is dejected and begins to
draw lines or scribble on the ground.
(iii) Temptation by Måra’s daughters: They are three in number; they seek to
lure the Buddha some time after his Enlightenment; they use dance, song,
music, and sweet talk as their arsenal to generate lust in the Buddha’s
mind; the Buddha shows not the slightest interest; they fail.
These basic elements are observable both in literature and art. The second and
the third have, of course, become more popular as themes for graphic description
in prose or verse as well as for imaginative representation in sculpture and
painting.
Among the earliest poems on these themes is AßvaghoΣa’s Buddhacarita (circa
2nd century A.C.), which devotes two chapters to the Victory over Måra (Chapter
13) and the Temptation by Måra’s daughters (Chapter 15). Already new elements
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