The Buddha overcomes the demon Mara and his forces, and the Earth Goddess creates a flood

The victory over Mara is the central episode of the Buddha's life for Southeast Asian Theravada Buddhists. It stands for the Enlightenment, and thus the achievement of buddhahood.

This mural-like painting, perhaps the largest outside Thailand, gives a sense of the cosmic scale of the struggle. In the words of an 1871 translation of a Thai version of the life of the Buddha, "King Mara . . . riding on his elephant, a thousand miles in height, led on his army; the van stretched two hundred and fifty miles before him, and the rearguard extended to the very walls of the world."

In the murals in the interiors of temple buildings depicting the victory over Mara is typically situated over the entrance door-in other words, in back of and above visitors as they enter. The primary sculptured Buddha image (usually in the pose known as "victory over Mara") sits at the far end of the building facing the entrance, so visitors find themselves with the victory both in front and behind them. They are in the midst of the victory, as awed spectators, together with heavenly and earthly throngs.

This painting had sustained much damage over the years. Hundreds of hours of work by conservators were required to stabilize the flaking paint and to delicately fill some of the areas of loss. The meticulous effort was supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Society for Asian Art.