noun

• (European folklore) A nightmare; a spectre or wraith-like creature in Germanic and particularly Scandinavian folklore; a female demon who torments people in sleep by crouching on their chests or stomachs, or by causing terrifying visions.
  "The corpus of related texts tells us that within rural society it was not improbable for your neighbour's envy of your fine cattle to take the form of a mara."

noun

• (Buddhism) A type of god that prevents accomplishment or success.
  "Mara means demon, or demonic influence, that hinders the practice of virtue. It may be an external spirit or an aspect of our own imperfect condition. All hindrances on the path to liberation are subsumed under the four maras. The first mara is the mara of the aggregates.[…]The second of the maras is the mara of the afflictions, which are the same as the afflictive obstructions. They are identified as a mara because they precipitate all harmful actions, from malicious gossip to murder.[…]The third mara is Devaputra, literally "son of a god," an external troublemaker who specializes in interfering with beings who are endeavoring to achieve something positive.[…]The last mara is the mara of death."
• (Buddhism) Any malicious or evil spirit.
  "The mara is the spirit that causes illness, accidents, and mishaps. The only protection against it is another mara who befriends a person or a group. A mara who becomes friendly is called a gunik. This transformation occurs when a mara comes to a person in a dream and states a desire to be friendly. But there are deceitful maras who pretend to be friendly, yet will betray the person who trusts them."

name

• (rare) A female given name from Hebrew.
  "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me."

name

• (Hinduism) The Hindu god of death; opposite of Kama.
• (Buddhism) The Buddhist demon who tempts people away from enlightenment