Mara

Mara (mâr`ə) [Heb.,=bitter], in the Bible, punning name taken by Naomi out of sorrow.

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Mara

Buddhist Lord of the Senses, who repeatedly tempted the Buddha Gautama. When Gautama seated himself under the bodhi tree to await enlightenment, the evil Mara appeared in the guise of a messenger claiming that a rival had usurped the family throne. After sending a storm of rain, rocks, ashes, and darkness to frighten away the gods who had gathered, he challenged Gautama's right to sit beneath the tree and sent forth his three daughters, Trsna, Rati, and Raga (thirst, desire, and delight), to seduce Gautama, but to no avail. After the Buddha had achieved enlightenment, Mara pressed him to abandon any attempt to preach, but the gods successfully persuaded him to preach the law.

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Mara 

(Dolichotis patagond), a mammal of the family Caviidae (guinea pigs) of the order Rodentia. It has a body measuring up to 70 cm long and a short tail (up to 4.5 cm). The snout is blunt, and the ears are rather long. The mara is brownish gray, with a light spot at the base of the tail known as the mirror. It is found in South America, dwelling in deserts and thicket-covered steppes. Active during the day, maras live in pairs or small groups. They are fast runners, sometimes leaping 2 m when pursued. Their home is a shallow burrow, in which the female gives birth to two or three offspring twice a year. Maras feed on plants. Their meat is edible.