Punakūṭasutta — Balavagga — the second chapter of the Fives
Setting
None stated; the discourse continues from AN 5.1, whose setting at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove is understood to hold
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
AN 5.12's formula and simile, restated word for word with the standard five powers in place of the sekhabala
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number for this variant
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — brief, its interest lying entirely in what it confirms rather than what it adds
Why this discourse
The title says it plainly: puna, again. This discourse takes AN 5.12’s claim that wisdom is chief among the powers, and its bungalow-peak simile, and restates both without change — except that the powers in question are now the standard five, faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, wisdom, rather than the sekhabala. It is the clearest confirmation this chapter offers that its ranking of wisdom is not tied to one particular five-item list, but survives the switch between the two.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Of the five powers — faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, wisdom — wisdom is the chief, holding and binding everything together, exactly as AN 5.12 said of the sekhabala.
What changed, and what did not
Compare the two discourses directly and the only substitution is the noun phrase naming which five items are meant. The verbs, the simile, the ranking claim, even the sentence structure are unchanged. This is a stronger form of repetition than anything seen so far in the Fives — not a formula reused with one qualifier added, as at AN 5.9, but the identical argument transplanted wholesale onto a different list.
Why this particular repetition earns its own discourse
A skeptical reader might ask why the collection needed two separate discourses to make one claim about two different lists, rather than a single discourse noting the claim holds for both. The likely answer, consistent with the reasoning offered already at AN 5.9, is that each five-item list circulates and is chanted as its own self-contained unit; a claim about the sekhabala does not automatically transfer, in oral practice, to the bala unless it is actually stated for the bala as well.
A ranking now doubly confirmed
With this discourse, wisdom’s status as chief has been claimed for both of this chapter’s five-item power lists, in the same words, using the same image. A reader who has followed the chapter this far has now seen the strongest possible statement, within this material, that whichever version of ‘the five powers’ is under discussion, wisdom is being treated as what completes and secures the rest.
What follows
AN 5.17 turns the chapter toward a different concern entirely: not the five powers at all, but a different five-item set — ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom — and whether a mendicant who has them shares them with others. The four discourses closing this chapter, AN 5.17 through 5.20, form their own self-contained unit.
Key terms
puna — “again” — the word giving this discourse its title, marking it as a deliberate restatement rather than new material.
kūṭa — “peak, roof-ridge” — the identical image from AN 5.12, transplanted here without change.
bala — “power” — here unambiguously the standard five powers, following the pivot made at AN 5.13.
agga — “chief, foremost” — the ranking word applied to wisdom a second time, now for a second five-item list.
saṅgāhika saṅghātaniya — “that which holds together, that which binds together” — the paired verbs from AN 5.12, repeated here word for word.
The text
The discourse in full: the standard five powers restated, wisdom named chief a second time, and the identical bungalow simile. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Wisdom, the chief power, restated
§1“Mendicants, there are these five powers. What five? The powers of faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom. These are the five powers. Of these five powers, the power of wisdom is the chief. It holds and binds everything together. It’s like a bungalow. The roof-peak is the chief point, which holds and binds everything together. In the same way, of these five powers, the power of wisdom is the chief. It holds and binds everything together.”
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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 does the title 'Punakūṭa' mean, and what does it signal?
Correct: B. Puna, again, marking this as repetition rather than new material.
Question 2 of 10
What changes between AN 5.12 and AN 5.16?
Correct: B. Verbs, simile, and ranking claim unchanged; only the noun phrase for which five items is meant.
Question 3 of 10
How does the guide characterize this repetition compared to AN 5.9's modification of AN 5.8?
Correct: B. A word-for-word transplant rather than a modification.
Question 4 of 10
Why does the guide suggest the collection needed a separate discourse for this repeated claim, rather than one discourse noting it for both lists?
Correct: B. The same reasoning already offered at AN 5.9 for a similar case.
Question 5 of 10
After AN 5.16, for how many of this chapter's five-item power lists has wisdom now been claimed as chief?
Correct: C. The strongest possible statement, within this material, of wisdom's completing role.
Question 6 of 10
What does AN 5.17, the next discourse, turn the chapter toward?
Correct: B. AN 5.17–20 form the chapter's own closing unit, on a related but distinct topic.
Question 7 of 10
Is the bungalow-peak simile itself altered in any way at AN 5.16?
Correct: B. The identical image, transplanted onto the new list.
Question 8 of 10
What are the five powers named in this discourse?
Correct: B. The standard bala, following the chapter's pivot at AN 5.13.
Question 9 of 10
How long is AN 5.16 compared to AN 5.12?
Correct: B. A close match, since the content is a direct restatement.
Question 10 of 10
Where is AN 5.16 set?
Correct: B. Consistent with the chapter's pattern so far.
