ColossiansOne

Side by side, from the sources

Mara vs Satan

These two are identified with one another in the record, which is not the same as being the same figure. Tempts at the decisive moment and commands an army — but is glossed throughout as craving rather than as a being.

Deity · Buddhist · c. 100 BCE

Mara

also called Varsavarti, Namuci, Kāmadhāturāja, Kṛṣṇa, Piṣuna, Pāpīyān, Pramādabandhu, Māra, Antaka

He assaults the Buddha under the Bodhi tree, first with armies and then with his daughters. The canon keeps glossing him as craving itself rather than as a being.

Alignment
Infernal
Rank
The Tempter
First attested
The Pali Canon · c. 100 BCE, from oral tradition
Named there as
Mara
Texts naming it
2
Powers attributed
4
55attestedBuddhist

Demonic · Infernal Court · c. 400 BCE

Satan

also called ha-Satan, The Adversary, Shaitan, The Devil, Satanas, Shaytan, Sam Hill, Lord of This World

Not originally a name but an office — 'the accuser'. In Job he is a member of the divine court doing his job; only later does he become the enemy.

Alignment
Fallen
Rank
Adversary
First attested
Hebrew Bible & Deuterocanon · c. 900–100 BCE
Named there as
ha-Satan
Texts naming it
5
Powers attributed
5
97attestedChristianJewishIslamic

Where do they actually overlap?

Texts naming both

None. The two never appear in the same text in this corpus, which is worth knowing before accepting any confident claim that they are one figure.

Powers credited to both

Commands LegionsDeceives & TemptsTorments

Common questions

Are Mara and Satan the same figure?

These two are identified with one another in the record, which is not the same as being the same figure. Tempts at the decisive moment and commands an army — but is glossed throughout as craving rather than as a being. ColossiansOne records the link rather than asserting the identity: where texts disagree about whether two names denote one figure, the disagreement is what gets shown.

Which is older, Mara or Satan?

Satan is the older name: first attested around c. 400 BCE, against c. 100 BCE for Mara. Where the two dates are far apart, that gap is the whole reason the pair is worth comparing.

Do any texts name both Mara and Satan?

No text in this corpus names both. That is not proof they were considered the same figure, but it is why the identification has to be traced through the scholarship rather than read off a page.
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