Mahāmaudgalyāyana，又名目乾連。見摩訶目犍連條。
目連; 摩訶目犍連 (or 摩訶羅夜那); 大目犍連 (or 大目乾連) ; 沒特伽羅子 (or 沒力伽羅子); 目伽略 (Mahā-) Maudgalyāyana, or Maudgalaputra; explained by Mudga 胡豆 lentil, kidney-bean. One of the ten chief disciples of Śākyamuni, specially noted for miraculous powers; formerly an ascetic, he agreed with Śāriputra that whichever first found the truth would reveal it to the other. Śāriputra found the Buddha and brought Maudgalyāyana to him; the former is placed on the Buddha's right, the latter on his left. He is also known as 拘栗 Kolita, and when reborn as Buddha his title is to be Tamāla-patra-candana-gandha. In China Mahāsthāmaprapta is accounted a canonization of Maudgalyāyana. Several centuries afterwards there were two other great leaders of the Buddhist church bearing the same name, v. Eitel.
一目犍連 梵名 Maudgalyāyana，巴利名 Moggallāna。為佛陀十大弟子之一。又作摩訶目犍連（梵 Mahāmaudgalyāyana）、大目犍連、大目乾連、大目連、目連、目揵連、目伽略、勿伽羅、目犍連延、目犍羅夜那、沒特伽羅、毛伽利耶夜那。別名拘律陀（梵 Kolita）、拘律、俱哩多、拘離迦、拘理迦、俱離多。意譯天抱。被譽為神通第一。為古代印度摩揭陀國王舍城外拘律陀村人，婆羅門種。生而容貌端正，自幼即與舍利弗交情甚篤，同為刪闍耶（梵 Sañjaya）外道之弟子，各領徒眾二百五十人。嘗與舍利弗互約，先得悟解脫者必以相告，遂共競精進修行。後舍利弗因逢佛陀弟子阿說示，而悟諸法無我之理，並告目犍連，目犍連遂率弟子一同拜謁佛陀，蒙其教化，時經一月，證得阿羅漢果。於佛本行集經卷四十七舍利弗目連緣品、四分律卷三十三等均載有此事。 目犍連與舍利弗歸依佛陀後，共同精進修道，遂成諸弟子中之上首，輔翼佛陀之教化，有關其事跡，於經典中時有記載。又於雜阿含經卷二十三、中阿含卷四十八「牛角娑羅林經」、增一阿含經卷三十六、大智度論卷四十一等經論中，皆特稱之為「神足第一」。據載，目犍連亦曾代替佛陀為眾說法。 另據盂蘭盆經載，目犍連曾為救母出離餓鬼道，而於七月十五僧自恣之日供養十方大德僧眾，遂為後世盂蘭盆會之由來。晚年在王舍域內行乞時，慘遭嫉恨佛陀教團之婆羅門徒執杖梵志，以瓦石擊死，此係佛陀涅槃前之事。佛陀於竹林精舍門邊建塔弔之；又於大唐西域記卷四、卷九等，亦有記載。 此外，於密教中，目犍連係安於現圖胎藏界曼荼羅釋迦院中尊釋迦牟尼佛右方上列之第四位。其形像為沙門形，右手握拳，舒展食指，左手執袈裟之角，面稍向左，坐於赤蓮華座。〔雜阿含經卷十九、卷三十四、卷四十三、中阿含卷九瞻波經、卷二十長老上尊睡眠經、增一阿含經卷四、卷十二、卷十八、卷二十八、觀無量壽經、五分律卷十六、摩訶僧祇律卷十六、十誦律卷三十七〕p2666
見摩訶目犍連條。