Thank you once again Sybe,
We see eye-to-eye then as to the influence, or lack of it, of devaputta-Mara on those with magga phala.
It is a good thing that I reflected for about 45′ on this before starting to type; some things became clear which were not before:
The whole ground for my position that Mara (in both senses) cannot alter the course of those on magga phala lies in the fact that a Sotapanna has at most 7 more bhava before attaining Nibbana. Now the question (to myself) was: how is it that a Sotapanna has this guarantee, while one on the next higher stage, the Sakadagami, has ‘only’ the guarantee of one (one more, if he attains that stage in the human realm) bhava in the devaloka, with nothing more said as to when he attains Nibbana. One would expect that the higher the stage of attainment, the fewer the bhava possible before Release.
What I had not seen was that a Sakadagami of necessity has already been a Sotapanna, even if only since the previous thought-moment, so the ‘7-bhava guarantee’ applies to him as well; actually it will be one less now. And that makes sense. The same goes in the case of Anagamis. Now, since the course of those on magga phala is set (‘on a fixed course’ as you put it) then no one and nothing can come in the way to prevent it, Mara Deva or kilesa Mara. But we have be using the word ‘influence’ too freely, too broadly. Mara (both) can influence, that is, be the cause of changing course, only those NOT on magga phala (for the reason already given in para 2). With those on magga phala it will only be a case of intrusion or disturbance (to no avail in the end,with no chance of thus ‘influencing’ the outcome, Nibbana)
So, Sybe: ‘Mara as-the-personification-of-kilesa (or craving or anusaya or samyojana or asava) will be there until arahanthood. So in that sense we are under Mara’s sway till arahanthood.’
Will be there, yes. But of no influence ultimately. And ‘sway’approaches more the sense of ‘influence’ than mere intrusion or petty disturbance. So I do not think that “we are under Mara’s sway till arahanthood.”
Much Metta