Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c7.113

c7.113

Certain events in the actual life of Gotama Buddha must be related here, as they are so often illustrated on vihāra walls. The enlightenment (attaining of Buddhahood) took place beneath the Bō-tree where the Prince had remained during the terrible mental struggle symbolized in the descriptions and representations of his conflict with Māra, the ‘devil’ of this temptation in the wilderness. The Prince was seated upon a throne beneath the tree; the powers of evil, led by Māra, made repeated and terrific attacks upon his person, accompanied by portents and horrors of every description (Pl. XIV., 2).