The Udāna is arranged with a clear architectural simplicity: it is divided into eight chapters, or vaggas, each of which contains ten units, yielding a total of eighty udānas. These chapters bear titles that point to significant themes, persons, or episodes, such as the Bodhivagga, Mucalindavagga, Nandavagga, Meghiyavagga, Soṇavagga or Soṇattheravagga, Jaccandhavagga, Cūḷavagga, and Pāṭaligāmiyavagga. The titles themselves suggest a loose thematic orientation around key moments and figures in the Buddha’s life and ministry, even though the overall arrangement is not strictly systematic in a doctrinal sense. Rather than a rigid philosophical treatise, the collection reads as a series of spiritually charged moments, gathered into these eight named groupings.

Within each chapter, the individual udānas share a consistent internal form. Each one begins with a prose narrative that sets the scene: where the Buddha is dwelling, who is present, and what situation or question has arisen. This narrative then leads into a transitional moment in which the Buddha, moved by understanding of the situation, utters a concise verse. That verse—the actual “udāna” or inspired utterance—is the heart of each unit, typically expressed in a brief, pithy poetic form. The prose can be seen as the ground, the human and historical context, from which the verse emerges as a distilled expression of insight.

Thematically, the verses and their surrounding stories are diverse, reflecting a wide range of spiritual concerns rather than a single linear argument. Many arise from encounters with monks, lay followers, or other seekers, and they often touch on impermanence, non-self, liberation, and the turning points in disciples’ understanding. Some chapters are associated with particular episodes—such as events following the Buddha’s awakening or encounters with specific disciples—yet the individual pieces are not arranged as a tightly ordered doctrinal sequence. The structure, therefore, invites contemplative reading: each self-contained narrative and verse can be approached as a window into a particular moment of awakening, while the eightfold division offers a gentle, overarching frame rather than a rigid system.