In Hinduism

Kavya (poetry)

Source: Wisdomlib Libary: Kathā

Māyābala (मायाबल) is the son of the maternal uncle of Vibhīṣaṇa (a king of Laṅkā), according to the fifth Ucchvāsa of the Udayasundarīkathā. The demon (rākṣasa) Māyābala later came to challenge Malayavāhana (king of Pratiṣṭhāna).

The Udayasundarīkathā is a Sanskrit epic tale written by Soḍḍhala in the early 11^th century, revolving around the Nāga princess Udayasundarī and Malayavāhana (king of Pratiṣṭhāna).

context information

Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Māyābala (मायाबल) refers to the “power of magic”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.6 (“Prayer to Śiva”).—Accordingly, as Śiva said to the Gods: “O lord of gods, all the intentions of the gods have been understood by me now. The power of Viṣṇu’s magic (māyābala) and that of the intelligent Nārada has been known. O most excellent of the gods, there is no doubt in this that I will destroy the three cities of the Asuras if they persist in indulging in evil activities. [...]”.

context information

The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra

Māyabala (मायबल) refers to the “powers of magic”, representing one of the various actions of Māra, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter 14).—Accordingly, “When the Buddha has entered Samādhirājasamādhi, he manifests his great miraculous power by means of all kinds of metamorphoses. If he manifested his great miraculous power without entering into Samādhirājasamādhi, some people might think that the Buddha was using the powers of magic (māyabala) or of spells, or that he is a very powerful Nāga, or that he is a god and not a human. Why? When a single body emits countless bodies and when all sorts of rays are created, we might [easily] think that this is not the doing of a human. It is to prevent such an error that the Buddha enters into Samādhirājasamādhi”.

context information

Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Partial matches: Bala, Maya.

Starts with: Mayabalavat.

Full-text: Vibhishana, Saurashtra.

Relevant text

No search results for Mayabala, Māyābala, Maya-bala, Māyā-bala; (plurals include: Mayabalas, Māyābalas, balas) in any book or story.