Udana

Udana is a canonical Buddhist text, belonging to the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka in the Pali Canon. The Pali word udāna is typically translated as “inspired utterance” or “exclamation.” Each short discourse in the collection begins with an uplifting or inspired remark, and is followed by a brief narrative context—often describing a situation, a teaching moment, or a moment of awakening in the life of the Buddha or of other figures—before concluding with a concise doctrinal or reflective verse.

The Udana comprises eighty short suttas. They are characteristically terse, vivid, and accessible, and they weave narrative episodes with single-line or short verses that encapsulate insight. While the collection is not a systematic treatise, it is valued for illustrating key themes in Buddhist practice and experience, including moments of insight, the reliability of the path, the nature of reality, and the transformative potential of awakening. Some suttas recount events from the Buddha’s life or past lives, and others present direct exhortations to faith, ethical conduct, and meditative practice.

In scholarly and devotional contexts, the Udana is appreciated for its immediacy and inspirational tone. It is frequently read alongside other Khuddaka Nikaya collections, such as the Dhammapada and the Itivuttaka, to convey a sense of the experiential dimension of awakening within early Buddhist teachings. The text has been preserved in Theravada traditions and is available in various English translations and scholarly editions.