Ucchaṅga — Book of the Ones · Chapter Seven (Itthivagga) · Poem 7 of 10
Setting
A royal court, an impossible choice forced on a woman
Speaker
The woman herself, explaining her reasoning to the king
Form
One four-line stanza
Length
Under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching text for this poem in other Buddhist literatures.
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — one short verse of admired, clear-headed reasoning
Why this text
This poem closes out this chapter's run of poems concerning women on a genuinely different note: rather than voicing a prejudice against a woman's character, it presents a woman's own clear, shrewd reasoning under an impossible forced choice — reasoning a king finds so persuasive that he releases everyone involved.
Reading guide
An impossible choice, and unflinching logic
The verse gives the woman's own explanation: ‘a son in my lap, your highness, or a husband while walking the street — but I don't see the place from where I can fetch a brother.’ Per Sujato's comment, a king holds a woman's son, husband, and brother captive, forcing her to choose only one to save. She chooses her brother, reasoning that a son or husband may, in principle, be had again, but a brother, once lost, cannot be replaced.
Reasoning admired, not condemned
The king, per Sujato's comment, is ‘impressed with her reasoning’ and releases all three captives — a clear reversal of this chapter's earlier pattern. Here a woman's own careful, unsentimental logic under genuine duress is precisely what the story celebrates, closing this chapter's run of poems concerning women with real admiration rather than suspicion.
A frank note on the verse's own opening image
Sujato's comment notes directly that ‘ucchaṅge’ (‘lap’) carries a sexual innuendo in this context, likened by the traditional commentary to a ‘bag’ in which vegetables are kept — the woman's own opening line making a frank, practical point about how easily a son or husband might be acquired again, before her reasoning turns to what genuinely cannot be replaced.
Key terms
ucchaṅge — “in my lap”, per Sujato's comment carrying a sexual innuendo, giving this poem its traditional title.
sodariyaṁ ānaye — “fetch a brother” — the impossibility at the center of the woman's reasoning, since a brother, unlike a son or husband, cannot be replaced.
Ucchaṅgajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘In My Lap’.
the king — per Sujato's comment, the one who forces this impossible choice, then releases all three captives once persuaded by her reasoning.
reasoning admired — the outcome this reading guide highlights: a woman's own clear-headed logic under duress, presented for genuine admiration rather than suspicion, closing this chapter's run of poems concerning women.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1A son in my lap, your highness, or a husband while walking the street—but I don’t see the place from where I can fetch a brother.
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What impossible choice does the king force on the woman, per Sujato's comment?
Correct: C. Setting up her carefully reasoned response.
Question 2 of 10
Which family member does she choose to save?
Correct: D. Reasoning that a son or husband may, in principle, be had again, but a brother cannot be replaced.
Question 3 of 10
How does the king respond to her reasoning, per Sujato's comment?
Correct: A. A clear reversal of this chapter's earlier pattern of suspicion toward women.
Question 4 of 10
How does this poem's treatment of a woman's reasoning differ from several earlier poems in this chapter?
Correct: B. Closing this chapter's run of poems concerning women on a notably different note.
Question 5 of 10
What does Sujato's comment say about the word 'ucchaṅge' (lap) in this context?
Correct: C. A frank note on the practical point her opening line makes.
Question 6 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: D. The sixty-seventh poem overall, and the seventh of the Itthivagga.
Question 7 of 10
Why, in her own reasoning, is a brother irreplaceable while a son or husband are not?
Correct: A. A frank, practical distinction rather than a sentimental one.
Question 8 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: B. Part of the same ten-poem Itthivagga, and per Sujato's own comment on the next poem, the last of this chapter's poems actually concerning women.
Question 9 of 10
What genre convention does this poem follow, involving a ruler testing a subject's wisdom?
Correct: C. The king's own admiration and release of all three captives confirms this pattern.
Question 10 of 10
What does this poem's placement, closing this chapter's 'women' theme, suggest about the chapter's overall range?
Correct: D. Worth noting honestly alongside the chapter's more troubling earlier poems.
