佛陀在舍衛城所說的一經，通篇以譬喻展開——一人須提防四條毒蛇、躲避五個兇徒、逃離持刀闖入者、穿越空無一人的村落與劫掠者，最終渡過險惡洪流方得安全——各項分別譬喻四大、五取蘊、貪愛、六內外處與四暴流，說明從執取身見走向涅槃解脫的歷程。

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.

另一部同名經文，與前述譬喻經不同，此經以毒蛇的四種性情——有毒而不兇、兇猛而無毒、二者兼具、二者皆無——比擬人有四種性情，依其易怒程度與嗔怒持續之久暫而分，此名亦為《相應部》中一品無關內容的篇名。

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.