Thank you Lal for the explanation, I always thought it’s a metaphor, because I remember learning in Daham paasala on Sundays, that Mara’s three daughters Thanha Rathi Raga came and danced to distract Gautama from attaining enlightenment. As I understood later that the three women were the metaphors for Raga, dwesha, moha, I understood Mara too as death. That’s the confusion.
Now the other question that comes to my mind is that how can Mara and other Devas have influence on us? Is it some kind of Devine power? Is it like the belief system of Hinduism where they have so many Gods to whom they worship asking for favours, and offering things with transferring merits? Is it the same Brahma and Deva realms Hinduism refer to as well?
A Quest to Recover Buddha's True Teachings