Mara is a familiar figure in the rich lore of Buddhism, most especially as the deva, or supernatural being, whose forces attack the bodhisattva Siddhartha Gautama as he sat beneath the pipal tree prior to his Enlightenment. In the sutras there are numerous variations on and elaborations of this account, some of them approaching the phantasma- gorical in their detail and embellishment. Here is a much abbreviated version of standard canonical accounts. Siddhartha’s meditative calm proved so powerful that the deadly forces hurled at him by Mara were transformed into flowers of offering that showered gently down upon his head. Gautama was equally unmoved when, according to some traditions, Mara sent his beautiful daughters in an attempt to seduce the bodhisattva. In a final attempt to unseat him, Mara insisted that he, not Gautama, had a right to the throne of enlightenment by virtue of his previous meritorious deeds, while all of Mara’s hordes thundered forth their support. In response, the solitary bodhisattva reached down and touched the ground, calling upon the earth goddess to bear witness to his countless past deeds of merit. In acknowledgement the earth gave a great shudder, at which Mara’s fearsome elephant bowed down before the bodhisattva in submission, and Mara and his armies fled in terror. At this moment hosts of devas arrived to proclaim Gautama’s victory and to witness his final illumination.

via Reflections on Mara.