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mahāmoggallāno

mahāmoggallāna

masc nom sg of mahāmoggallāna (noun)

1. name of an arahant monk; chief disciple; great disciple of the Buddha; foremost monk in psychic power; lit. great descendent of Muggala

Built from

• mahā — prefix · great, much
  From PIE *meg- (great); cognate with English 'much', 'mighty', and Greek μέγας. Here used as an intensifying adjective to mark pre-eminence in the monk's status and powers.
• moggallāna — root · descendant of Muggala, clan name
  A proper noun / family epithet; -āna is a possessive suffix marking lineage or descent. The element Muggala may be a personal ancestor's name or derive from mugga (mung bean), but the exact origin is uncertain and the word is chiefly attested as a personal/familial designation in Buddhist texts.

Analysis. mahā (great) + moggallāna (descendant of Muggala, or the lineage name); the first part is the common adjective 'great', intensifying the status of the historical monk. Moggallāna is a family or clan name (Muggali, Muggala), with -āna forming a patronymic or clan designation.

Etymology. mahā is from Proto-Indo-European *meg- (great), cognate with English 'much', 'mighty', Greek μέγας (megas). Moggallāna is a proper noun of unclear ultimate origin; it may derive from Sanskrit/Pali mugga (mung bean) or from a personal/clan ancestor Muggala, with -āna forming a possessive or familial suffix (-āna often marks 'belonging to, descended from'). The name is attested in early Buddhist texts as the epithet of one of the Buddha's two chief disciples, renowned for mastery of iddhi (psychic power).

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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