Evil Gods: Maya

Key Facts

Other names
Year of origin
Location	Ugarit, Syria
Parent(s)	El
Partner(s)	Sister and lover of Ba'al
Children	Dagon
Aspect(s)	War, Fertility, Sex
Major Centre(s)
Period of worship

Background

Queen Māyā of Sakya was the birth mother of the historical Gautama Buddha, Siddhārtha of the Gautama gotra, and sister of Mahapajapati Gotami the first woman ordained by the Buddha. "Māyā" means "illusion" or "enchantment" in Sanskrit and Pāli. Māyā is also called Mahāmāyā ("great Māyā") or Māyādevī ("Queen, literally 'goddess,' Māyā"). In Tibetan she is called Gyutrulma. Queen Mayadevi was born in Devadaha kingdom of ancient Nepal.

Parallels to Maya and Mary

Similar to Jesus, Buddha is said to have been conceived via a virgin birth. This is likely due to a specific interpretation of the prophetic dream Queen Māyā is said to have had prior to conception.

There are other striking similarities between the two women and myths, including:

The similarity in the sounds of the names of Mary and Maya.
Both women conceived during a remarkable vision.
Both women gave birth "outside" of a home.
Heavenly wonders appeared in the sky.
Angels announced the newborn as "savior" of the world.
Sages came to visit the newborn and make prophecies of auspicious careers.

While some scholar argue and confuse the detail concerning the title Mary, itself a word derived from the Mary/Maya cults of the East and Maya, these similarities imply a common source to these myths.


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