The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
The identical paired fivefold list as SN 37.1, with the genders exchanged
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief, and best read as SN 37.1's own confirming twin
Why this discourse
This discourse gives SN 37.1's own five-factor account word for word with the genders exchanged: a man who lacks attractiveness, wealth, ethical conduct, industriousness, and fertility is extremely undesirable to a woman; a man who has all five is extremely desirable. Nothing in this discourse's own content differs from the previous one beyond the swapped subject — confirming, rather than qualifying, that this vagga's opening pair describes one shared social standard applied evenly to both parties in a marriage.
Reading guide
An exact mirror, not a softened variant
Every one of the five factors, both intensifiers (“extremely”), and the overall structure recur unchanged from SN 37.1 — this is not a milder or qualified version of the same claim applied to men, but the identical claim.
Confirming a standard runs in both directions
Placed immediately after SN 37.1 rather than scattered elsewhere in the vagga, this discourse's own position makes the mirroring impossible to miss — the text itself invites the two discourses to be read as a matched pair, not as isolated statements.
The same descriptive, not doctrinal, register
As with SN 37.1, nothing here claims these five factors determine a man's spiritual worth; the discourse describes social marriageability conditions from the other side of the same relationship.
Two discourses, one point made twice for emphasis
Some pairs in this project's coverage vary a detail between their two halves (a different questioner, a different dependency); this pair varies nothing but the subject, making its own point through exact repetition rather than through contrast.
Key terms
purisa — a man — this discourse's own subject, replacing SN 37.1's mātugāma with no other change
appiyo... mātugāmassa — “undesirable... to a woman” — the mirrored first condition
piyo... mātugāmassa — “desirable... to a woman” — the mirrored second condition
na ca puttaṁ janetā hoti — “he doesn't beget children” — the fifth undesirable factor, unchanged in form from SN 37.1's own equivalent
dutiyaṁ — “second” — this discourse's own untranslated closing marker, confirming its position as SN 37.1's immediate twin
The text
The complete discourse: the undesirable and desirable fivefold lists, applied to men. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, when a man has five factors he is extremely undesirable to a lady. What five? He’s not attractive, wealthy, or ethical; he’s idle, and he doesn’t beget children. When a man has these five factors he is extremely undesirable to a lady. When a man has five factors he is extremely desirable to a lady. What five? He’s attractive, wealthy, and ethical; he’s deft and tireless, and he begets children. When a man has these five factors he is extremely desirable to a lady.”
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Self-check quiz
5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 5
How does this discourse's content compare to SN 37.1's own?
Correct: A. Every factor, both intensifiers, and the overall structure recur unchanged.
Question 2 of 5
Where is this discourse positioned relative to SN 37.1, and why does that matter?
Correct: A. The text itself invites the two discourses to be read as a matched pair, not isolated statements.
Question 3 of 5
Does this discourse claim these five factors determine a man's spiritual worth?
Correct: A. The same descriptive rather than doctrinal register as its twin.
Question 4 of 5
How does this pair (SN 37.1/37.2) make its point, compared to other twin discourses in this project's coverage?
Correct: A. Unlike pairs that vary a questioner or dependency, this pair varies nothing but the subject.
Question 5 of 5
What single word replaces "mātugāma" throughout this discourse?
Correct: A. The only substantive change between the two discourses.
