In the Udāna, the closing “inspired utterance” functions as the spiritual and literary summit of each discourse. After the narrative has unfolded—describing persons, circumstances, and the arising of insight—the final exclamation gathers the strands of the episode into a single, concentrated expression of Dharma. It is here that the essential principle or realization, often touching on themes such as suffering, its cessation, or the nature of liberation, is distilled into a brief, heightened verse. The prose thus prepares the ground, while the udāna itself reveals the deeper significance that the Buddha discerned in the situation.

These utterances are portrayed as spontaneous expressions of realization, arising naturally from the Buddha’s direct and immediate insight rather than from deliberate argument or systematic exposition. They often carry a tone of joy, wonder, or profound clarity, and so may be heard as the voice of awakening responding to the conditions at hand. Because they are concise and poetic, they lend themselves to memorization and recitation, serving as portable summaries of the teaching that can be easily recalled. In this way, they support both the preservation of the tradition and the ongoing reflection of practitioners.

The inspired utterances also serve a contemplative and evocative function. By condensing the heart of the teaching into a few carefully chosen words, they invite sustained reflection rather than quick intellectual grasp. Their language, while simple, is often suggestive and open-textured, pointing beyond discursive reasoning toward direct spiritual experience. Emerging from specific stories yet articulating universal principles, they transform particular events into timeless Dharma lessons. Through this dual role—both summative and transformative—the final exclamation in each sutta stands as the apex of the teaching, a focal point for understanding, practice, and insight.