Buddhist · Sanskrit · c. 200–300 CE, from older material
The Lalitavistara Sutra
Anonymous; Mahayana compilation
A life of the Buddha up to the first sermon, and the fullest account of the assault under the tree: Mara arrives with an army, then with his daughters, then with the argument that no one can witness the claim being made, and is answered by the earth. The corpus holds it because the temptation is won by testimony rather than by force, which is a different resolution from every exorcism on this site.
Read The Lalitavistara Sutra in full at the linked edition →What this text attests · 2
| Name here | Rank given | # | Powers described |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | The assault under the tree in full: an army, then his daughters, then the challenge that no one can testify for the man sitting there — answered when the earth is called as witness. Every temptation in this corpus is resisted by refusal or expelled by force. This one is settled by evidence, which is a different theory of what a tempter is. | |
Nagas = The Naga | Attendants at the awakening | — | Present in the assemblies around the Bodhi seat and the birth, honouring the event rather than contesting it — the serpent on the side of the one under the tree. |
