佛陀在舍卫城所说的一经，通篇以譬喻展开——一人须提防四条毒蛇、躲避五个凶徒、逃离持刀闯入者、穿越空无一人的村落与劫掠者，最终渡过险恶洪流方得安全——各项分别譬喻四大、五取蕴、贪爱、六内外处与四暴流，说明从执取身见走向涅槃解脱的历程。

A discourse taught at Sāvatthi that presents an extended allegory of a man beset by four venomous snakes, five murderous foes, an armed housebreaker, an empty village, and marauders, before finally crossing a perilous flood to safety — each element standing for the elements, aggregates, craving, sense bases, and floods that bar the way from personal identity-view to final liberation.

另一部同名经文，与前述譬喻经不同，此经以毒蛇的四种性情——有毒而不凶、凶猛而无毒、二者兼具、二者皆无——比拟人有四种性情，依其易怒程度与嗔怒持续之久暂而分，此名亦为《相应部》中一品无关内容的篇名。

A discourse, distinct from the allegorical sutta sharing its title, that compares four types of venomous or fierce snakes to four types of people distinguished by how quickly they anger and how long their anger lasts, a name also shared by an unrelated chapter of the Saṃyuttanikāya.