Mara is not a devil and rules no hell: he is the personification of what keeps beings in the cycle — craving, distraction, fear, and death itself. He appears at the awakening with armies and daughters, and appears again throughout the Buddha's life, often just as a voice suggesting an easier path. The important detail is what the Buddha does: he says "I see you, Mara," and the recognition is the defeat. In Buddhist psychology, the opposing force is not evil to be fought but confusion to be seen through.