Chapter XIII - Māra’s Destruction

1. When the great seer of a family of seer kings made his firm solemn oath, beneath the bodhi tree, that he would certainly accomplish the path of deliverance,

2. demons, dragons, and the multitude of gods all greatly rejoiced. But the celestial king Māra, enemy of the Law, alone was sorrowful and did not rejoice.

3. The sovereign king of the five desires was endowed with every skill in battle. Because he detested so-called deliverance, he was called Pāpīyas.

4. King Māra had three daughters. They had a beautiful appearance and fine bearing. Possessing all kinds of wiles to delude people, they were the best among celestial maidens.

5. The first was called Rāgā. The second was called Ratī, and the third was called Tṛṣṇā. The three daughters came forward at the same time, and said to Pāpīyas, their father, “We are wondering why you are sad.”

6. Their father [Māra] fully described the situation according to the facts, and informed his daughters, “In the world there is a great muni. His person bears the armor of his great solemn oath. He holds the bow of his great resolution and the sharp arrow of wisdom.

7. “He wishes to battle and subdue beings, and to destroy my realm. Soon, when the beings come to believe in him, I will not be [the same] as before. When they all turn to his path of deliverance, my land will be empty.

8. “When, for instance, someone offends against morality, his person is then empty. As long as his eye of wisdom is not open, my land is still all right. I must go and destroy [the Bodhisattva’s] determination, break down his bridge!”

9. With bow in hand and five arrows, along with his retinue, both male and female, [Māra] went to that aśvattha grove, wishing beings to be ill at ease.

10. He saw the quietude of the muni, who was about to cross the sea of the three existences.^[1] With his left hand he seized his strong bow, and with his right hand he made ready to shoot a sharp arrow.

11. And he said to the Bodhisattva, “You, kṣatriya,^[2] rise quickly! Death is very dreadful. You should practice your own duties!

12. “Give up the Law of deliverance! Practice warfare and be generous to meritorious gatherings! Having subdued all the worldly, you will obtain the happiness of rebirth in heaven in the end!

13. “This path is very famous, practiced by your excellent ancestors. A descendant of a great family of seer kings should not be a beggar!

14. “If you do not rise now, make your purpose firm! Beware, do not give up on your solemn oath! Dare me to let loose my arrow!

15. “At the mere touch of this arrow of mine, the grandson of the moonlight, Aiḷa,^[3] was as if blown away by a storm. His mind became disordered.

16. “When the seer, practicing asceticism in quietude, heard the sound of my arrow, he immediately became very afraid at heart. He was confused and lost his basic nature.

17. “All the more so if you hope to be free from this arrow of mine during your last days! If you rise quickly now, you may yet be fortunate and obtain safety.

18. “This arrow’s poison is fierce. It will cause you to shiver and tremble! If someone relies on his strength to endure my arrow, even his own safety may be difficult [to obtain]. All the more so if you cannot endure it! How could you not be frightened?”

19. As Māra explained this fearful matter to intimidate the Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva’s mind was complacent. He had no doubts, nor was he afraid.

20. King Māra immediately let loose his arrow, and also brought his three jade daughters forward. The Bodhisattva did not look at the arrow, and he did not care for the three daughters either.

21. King Māra stood in awe and became suspicious. He said to himself, deeply in his heart, “Once I shot at Maheśvara for the maiden of the Snowy Mountains.^[4] I could make his heart change but I cannot move the Bodhisattva.

22. “It is not the case that I can move his heart with this arrow or with my celestial three jade daughters, so that he may bring about love or hatred. I must further gather my army and put forceful pressure on him with its strength!”

23. While he was considering thus, Māra’s troops suddenly assembled. They were of all kinds and each had a different appearance. Some grasped a trident or held a sword. Others carried a tree or grasped an iron bolt—all kinds of implements for battle.

24. [They had the] faces of boars, fishes, donkeys, and horses; the appearances of camels, oxen, rhinoceroses, and tigers; and the heads of lions, dragons, and elephants, and other kinds of birds and beasts.

25. Some had one body and many heads. Some had faces each with one eye. Others had many eyes, and some had large bellies and long bodies.

26. Some were weak and emaciated, without a belly, and some had long legs and large knees. Some had large legs and fat calves, and some had long teeth and sharp claws.

27. Some had no head, chest, or face, and some were bipeds but had many bodies. Some had large faces and faces [placed] sideways, and some were of an ash-gray color.

28. Some resembled the light of a bright star, and the bodies of others emitted smoke. Some had the ears of an elephant and were burdened with mountains. Some had disheveled hair and were naked.

29. Some wore leather, and their faces were colored half red and white. Some wore tiger-skin clothes, and others wore snake-skin.

30. Some wore large bells around the waist, and some had twisted locks, or spiral headdresses. Some had disheveled hair covering their bodies, and some sucked in the human vital essence.

31. Some took away men’s lives, and some leaped wildly about, crying out loud. Some hurried in pursuit of others, again and again injuring one another.

32. Some circled in the sky, and some flew up among the trees. Some roared and shouted, their evil voices shaking heaven and earth.

33. Such evil beings surrounded the bodhi tree. Some wanted to rip up [the Bodhisattva’s] body, and others wanted to swallow him.

34. All four sides were ablaze with fire, and the smoking blaze reached to the heavens above. A gale of wind rose violently on the four sides, and the mountain forest shook all around.

35. Through the combination of wind, fire, smoke, and dust, it was dark and one could not see a thing. The gods and humans who loved the Law, and dragons and spirits, were all angry at Māra’s crowd. In their anger tears of blood flowed.

36. When the multitude of gods of the pure abodes saw that Māra was trying to confuse the Bodhisattva, who was free from desire and without anger, they felt grief and sorrow for him.

37. They all came and saw the Bodhisattva sitting upright, unmoving. Countless Māras surrounded him, and their evil voices moved heaven and earth.

38. The Bodhisattva was established in quietude. His bright complexion was without any peculiar sign. He was like a lion king, dwelling among the herd of animals.

39. They all sighed, crying out, “Ha! Ha! Amazing! Wonderful!” But Māra lashed his crowds on, and each presented their awful powers.

40. Again and again they pressed each other on to immediately cause his destruction. Their eyes wide open, they gnashed their teeth. They flew in disarray and leaped wildly about.

41. The Bodhisattva watched in silence, as if he were watching children playing. The Māras became more and more angry, and doubled their fighting strength.

42. When they tried to carry a rock, they could not lift it, and those who could [lift the rock] could not put it down. Flying spears, tridents, and sharp lances froze in the sky and did not come down.

43. As thunder shook, there was a shower of large hail but it changed to flowers of five colors. Evil dragon-snakes spat out poison, which changed to a fragrant breeze.

44. Beings of all shapes tried to injure the Bodhisattva, but they were unable to make him move and consequently they hurt themselves.

45. King Māra had an elder sister, called Meghakālī. Holding a skull vessel in her hands, she stood in front of the Bodhisattva. Exhibiting all kinds of strange deportment, she tried to debauch and confuse the Bodhisattva.

46. Such hosts of Māra wanted to frighten the Bodhisattva with their various hideous bodies and by raising all kinds of evil voices. But they could not move one hair. The Māras were all distressed.

47. A spirit^[5] in the sky had rendered himself invisible, and he raised his voice, “I see that the great muni’s mind is without thought of resentment.

48. “Your evil poisonous minds, Māras, try to bring resentment where there is no resentment. Foolish evil Māras, you toil in vain. There is nothing you can do.

49. “Give up your noxious thoughts! Be quiet and stay silent! You cannot blow away Mount Sumeru with your breath.

50. “Fire may become cold and water may become a blaze, the earth’s nature may become evenly soft, but you cannot destroy the Bodhisattva. For eons he has practiced asceticism.

51. “The Bodhisattva practices right consideration, and diligently strives with zeal. His pure wisdom is bright and he is compassionate for all.

52. “No one can affect or break down these four fine qualities, or make difficulties for him to accomplish his path of right awakening, just as the sun shining with its thousandfold light is certain to remove the world’s darkness.

53. “As one obtains fire by rubbing sticks together, and as one obtains water by digging in the earth, he strenuously applies right application. There is nothing he will not obtain in his search.

54. “No one comes to rescue the world; all are affected by the poisons of greed, anger, and delusion. Because he is merciful toward beings, he seeks for the fine medicine of wisdom. He will do away with the suffering of the world. Why do you trouble him?

55. “The deluded in the world are all attached to wrong paths. The Bodhi sattva is studying the right road. He wishes to guide beings.

56. “Harassing one’s guide in the world—this is absolutely not done!

As if one would deceive the merchant’s guide through the wilderness!

57. “As beings have fallen into great darkness and no one knows the place to go, he lights the lamp of wisdom for them. Why would you want to extinguish it?

58. “As beings are all tossed about in the great sea of birth and death, he repairs the ferryboat of wisdom for them. Why would you want to let it sink?

59. “Forbearance is a shoot of the Law, and firm determination is the root of the Law. The precepts of discipline are the flowers, and the thoughts of awakening are the branches and the trunk.

60. As for the great tree of wisdom, the unsurpassed Law is its fruit. It gives shelter to beings. Why would you want to fell it?

61. The cangue and chains of greed, anger, and delusion are a yoke for beings. For long eons he has practiced asceticism to deliver beings from their bonds. He will certainly accomplish this in the present, sitting in this exact place.

62. “Just as the buddhas of the past did, he has firmly established his adamantine moment. While in all directions everything is moving, only this earth is tranquil. He is ably experiencing fine concentration. You cannot destroy that.

63. “Just yield in your heart! Do away with haughty intentions! Develop the idea to be a good friend! Practice forbearance and wait upon him!”

64. When Māra heard the voice in the sky and saw that the Bodhisattva remained tranquil, he felt shame and lost his pride. He turned back and returned to his heaven.

65. Māra’s hosts were all in distress. They were defeated and had lost their might. They abandoned their weapons of war, scattered in the wild forest, just as when one has killed the enemy ruler the gangs of enemies are all destroyed.

66. After the Māras had withdrawn, the Bodhisattva’s mind was still. The sunshine doubled its light, and the dusty mist dissipated.

67. The moon was bright and the stars were clear. There was no more darkness. Celestial flowers fell down like rain from the sky to worship the Bodhisattva.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Three existences of past, present, and future. See note 19.

[2]:

Kṣatriya is the warrior, or noble, caste.

[3]:

See Chapter XI, stanza 17.

[4]:

The maiden of the Snowy Mountains is Pārvatī. Maheśvara is Śiva.

[5]:

Bhūta, a spiritual being. See also Chapter I, stanza 30, and note 4.