At the age of thirty-five, Siddhartha attained Nirvana or complete enlightenment. He was now the Buddha, “The Awakened One”. He overcame all the obscurations and temptations of Mara. Mara represents desire, craving, fear, ignorance and delusion. On the eve of his awakening under the Bodhi tree, Mara tempted Siddhartha. Mara first sent his daughters to seduce Siddhartha, representing temptation and desire. When seduction failed, Mara unleashed a terrifying army of monsters throwing weapons, which turned into flowers upon nearing Siddhartha.
In the first part of the night, he found the power of seeing his own past lives. In the second part of the night Siddhartha realized the impermanence of life and how living beings die only to be reborn again. In the third part of the night he realized the cause of all evil and suffering and how to be released from it. He understood how to end sorrow, unhappiness, suffering, old age and death.
Having won his victory over Mara and having understood the world as it is, the Buddha was perfected in wisdom, never to be born again. Craving and destructive desire had been completely eradicated. Bathed in the brilliant light of wisdom and truth sat the Buddha, the Perfect One. At the dawn after his enlightenment the Buddha uttered this verse: “Thro’ many a birth in samsara wandered Seeking, but not finding, the builder of this house. Sorrowful is repeated birth. House builder, thou art seen. Thou shalt build no house again. All thy rafters are broken; thy ridgepole is shattered. The mind attains the unconditioned. Achieved is the end of craving.”