At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, Venerable Udāyī was associating with and visiting a number of families in Sāvatthī. When Udāyī saw a young man without a wife and a young woman without a husband, he would praise the young woman to the parents of the young man, “The young woman of such-and-such a family is beautiful, intelligent, skilled, and diligent. She’s suitable for your son.” They would reply, “They don’t know who we are, venerable. If you could persuade them to give the girl, we would take her for our son.” And he praised the young man to the parents of the young woman, “The young man of such-and-such a family is handsome, intelligent, skilled, and diligent. He’s suitable for your daughter.” They would reply, “They don’t know who we are, venerable, and we would be ashamed to speak to them for the sake of the girl. But if you could persuade them to ask us, we would give our girl to the young man.” In this way he arranged for the taking of a bride, for the giving of a bride, and for marriage.

At that time there was a former courtesan who had a beautiful daughter. On one occasion some lay followers of the Ājīvaka religion came from another village and said to that courtesan, “Ma’am, please give your girl to our boy.” “I don’t know who you are, sirs, and I won’t give my only daughter to be taken to another village.” People asked those Ājīvaka lay followers why they had come. They replied, “We came to ask that courtesan to give her daughter to our son, but she refused.” “But why did you ask the courtesan? You should speak to Venerable Udāyī. He’ll persuade her.” They then went to Udāyī and said, “Venerable, we’ve asked that courtesan here to give her daughter to our son, but she refused. Would you please persuade her to give her daughter?”