Defeat of Mara, or Maravijaya and Enlightenment

The Defeat of Mara and Siddharta's enlightenment, the second of the four great events, took place at Bodh Gaya, in modern day Bihar state in Eastern India. Here, Siddharta chose a spot under a pipal tree (ficus religosa) and sat on a seat made of kusha grass. He bagan to meditate, and during his meditation he underwent a battle against the forces causing reincarnation. In Buddhist literature these forces are characterized as the demon Mara ("Death") and his demonic hordes. In this battle, Mara tried to distract the meditating Siddharta with worldly temptations such as wealth and power. The temptations are personfied as a demonic army hurling boulders, weapons, and so on, at Siddharta. This assault did not deter Siddharta from his meditation, and the weapons and boulders turned to flowers and fell at his feet. Mara then sent his beautiful daughters to distract Siddharta. However, being merely personifications of pleasure (rati), displeasure (arati) and passion or desire (trichna), they turn into old hags, thereby failing in their endeavor. Frustrated with his failure, Mara told Siddharta, " I have the death of all beings. These demons are my witness. What right do you have to escape death? Where is your witness?" At this point Siddharta touched the earth with his right hand extended over his right knee. In response to his touch, Prithvi, the earth goddess, emerged to serve as Siddharta's witness. With that, Mara was defeated and the demonic hordes vanished. Having defeated Mara, Siddharta came to be known as a Buddha, or "Enlightened Being." Specifically he is referred to as Gautama Buddha or Shakyamuni Buddha ("Enlightened One, Sage of the Shakya [clan]").

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