Victory Over Māra
(Māravijaya Mudrā)
The Buddha image is in the posture of sitting in the meditation posture (cross-legged):
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The left hand is placed face-up on the lap.
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The right hand rests on the knee, with the fingers pointing down to the ground.
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In some places, a depiction of Mother Earth (Phra Thorani) squeezing her hair is included.
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This posture is popularly created as the principal Buddha image (Phra Prathan) in the main chapel (Ubosot).
The origin of Māravijaya Mudrā
While the Bodhisattva (future Buddha) was seated upon the Bodhi seat (or Bodhi-throne), Māra the Tempter rode upon the elephant Girimekhala, which was 150 yojanas tall, leading his army with the intent to destroy the Bodhisattva's meditation and effort.
Māra magically created a gigantic body with thousands of hands holding various weapons and brought countless demonic soldiers that darkened the sky. All the deities fled, but the Bodhisattva was not afraid. The demons hurled their weapons at the Bodhisattva, but those weapons were all transformed into flower garlands.
Māra then claimed that the jeweled seat belonged to him. The Bodhisattva declared that this jeweled seat was created by the merit he had accumulated in previous lives, calling upon Mother Earth as his witness. Mother Earth released her hair bun and squeezed the water of dedication (from all the past merit-making donations of the Bodhisattva) to flow out and wash away all of Māra's forces until they were entirely vanquished.