Chapter 10: The Victory over Māra
(1) At that time, the deity Māra, the evil one, thought to himself, “This Prince Siddhattha desires to transcend my domain. I will not allow him to escape now.” Māra then sounded the call to arms and led forth his demonic army. The army of Māra was twelve yojanas thick in the front, and twelve yojanas thick on the left and right sides as well. The entirety of Māra’s army filled the space up to the edge of the cosmos. The portion of Māra’s army above extended for nine yojanas. The sound of Māra’s war cry reverberated for a distance of one hundred thousand yojanas in all directions, as if the entire earth were shaking.
(2) The deity Māra mounted his elephant, Girimekhala, which was one hundred and fifty yojanas high, and he manifested a thousand arms, each holding a different weapon. As for Māra’s army, they too manifested various bodies—blue, yellow, and so on—with hands holding different weapons. Some of Māra’s soldiers had the bodies of animals with the heads of yakkhas; other groups had the bodies of yakkhas with the heads of beasts and birds. Their bodies were of varying heights: some were one gāvuta tall, some two gāvutas, some three, and some one yojana tall, as they all marched toward the seat of enlightenment.
(3) Before Māra and his forces had even reached the seat of enlightenment, the deities throughout the ten thousand world systems who had come to surround the future Buddha, merely upon hearing the thunderous roar of Māra’s advancing army, fled to other places. As for Sakka, king of the gods, he hid his Victory Conch behind his back and fled to stand on the mountains at the edge of the cosmos. The great Brahmā grabbed the top of the white parasol and flew away. The Nāga king took all his maiden daughters and fled, burrowing five hundred yojanas into the earth to the Nāga realm, where he lay with his hands covering his face. When all the deities had fled, the future Buddha sat all alone, like a great Brahmā secure in his celestial palace, unafraid of Māra’s forces.
(4) Then Māra addressed his own assembly, shouting to his army, “O soldiers! There is no other man equal to this Siddhattha. We cannot wage war against him from the front. We can only approach from the left, the right, and from behind.” The Great Being looked and saw that the three directions were empty, for the deities had fled. He saw Māra’s army advancing in a dense mass from the north. He then thought, “All these beings have abandoned me and fled, leaving me alone. I have no mother, father, siblings, or relatives here at all. My Ten Perfections—these have been my entourage for a very long time.” Reflecting on his Ten Perfections, he sat there, serene and unmoved.
(5) Then the deity Māra caused a whirlwind to arise, thinking, “I will make this Siddhattha flee with this wind.” The wind was so powerful it could shatter mountain peaks, yet when it reached the Bodhisattva, it could not even stir the hem of his robe. Next, the deity Māra unleashed a great rain, a rain of stones, a rain of weapons, a rain of hot coals, a rain of hot ash, a rain of sand, and a rain of mud. He caused darkness, smoke, and fog to cover the four directions. Yet all these phenomena—the wind and the others—could not harm the Bodhisattva in any way; they were transformed into offerings instead.
(6) Thus Māra, unable to make the Bodhisattva flee with these nine phenomena, including the wind and rain, then commanded his army to advance, to capture and kill the Bodhisattva, or to drive him away. As for the lord of Māras, he rode atop his elephant, holding a thousand weapons in his hands. He spurred his elephant closer and proclaimed, “O Siddhattha! Rise and leave this jeweled throne! It does not belong to you; it belongs to us!” The Bodhisattva replied to Māra, “O Māra! The thirty perfections, the five great sacrifices, the three modes of conduct—you have not fulfilled them. This throne did not arise for you. This throne arose through the merit of my perfections.”
(7) The evil Māra, hearing this, became enraged. He seized his discus-weapon, with its razor-sharp edge, and hurled it directly at the future Buddha. Yet the discus-weapon transformed into a canopy of flowers, hovering above the future Buddha. Then Māra’s followers lifted great mountain peaks and hurled them at the Bodhisattva. The mountain peaks also transformed into floral offerings. Meanwhile, the deities who had fled from the Bodhisattva stood on the mountains at the edge of the cosmos watching, thinking to themselves, “It seems Prince Siddhattha has surely been destroyed by the hand of Māra.” The Great Being thought to himself, “The throne that arises for all Bodhisattvas on the day of their enlightenment has now arisen for me.” He then asked Māra, “Who is your witness?” Māra replied, “This entire army is my witness.” The Bodhisattva responded, “Māra, your witnesses are all biased. I have no such personal witness here.” He then recalled the acts of giving he had performed in his life as Prince Vessantara. He then brought his hand out from within his robe, pointed to the earth, and replied, “Māra, this great earth is my witness.” The earth then roared with a great sound, as if to say, “We are your witness!”
(8) Then the Great Being contemplated the perfection of giving, recalling the elephant he had given away during his life as Prince Vessantara. Māra’s elephant, Nāḷāgiri, could not withstand this; it buckled at the knees and knelt upon the earth. As for Māra, he raised his thousand hands to his head and uttered this verse:
“Namo te purisājañña, namo te purisuttama,
Sadevakasmiṃ lokasmiṃ, natthi te paṭipuggalo.
Tuvaṃ buddho tuvaṃ satthā, tuvaṃ mārābhibhū muni,
Tuvaṃ anussaye chinno, tiṇṇo tārehi maṃ pajaṃ.”
“Homage to you, noble man! Homage to you, supreme among men! In this world, with its gods, there is no one who can compare to you. You are the Buddha, you are the Teacher. You are the sage who has conquered Māra. You have cut off all latent defilements. You have crossed over; now, please, lead the people across as a teacher. You are the sage who has overcome Māra. You are the one who has severed the underlying defilements. You have crossed over from the ocean of existence; please guide me, and all beings, across as well.”
Having paid homage, Māra flew away and fled. His army also scattered in all directions. As for the deities, seeing Māra flee, they consulted one another, saying, “Māra has been defeated! He has lost to the Great Being and has fled. Our Siddhattha is victorious over Māra!” With this thought, they took fragrant flowers, flew down to the throne of enlightenment with joyous hearts, and proclaimed his victory at that very moment.
(End of the Chapter on the Victory over Māra, Chapter 10)
