Not narrated in this discourse's source text; presumably the same recurring frame as the rest of this vagga
Speakers
Not named explicitly; a five-verse riddle exchange, question, answer, request for the code, its solution, and confirmation
Form
Five four-line verses: a riddling question, a literal reply, a request to decode the riddle, its answer, and a closing confirmation
Length
~1.5 minutes to read
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — the riddle's answer is given directly in the text, but its implications reward slow reading
This vagga's longest exchange so far
Five verses, more than any other discourse in the Nandanavagga up to this point
Why this discourse
A deity asks a series of pointed questions: don't you have a little hut, a little nest, any networks — aren't you free of shackles? The reply is a flat denial of all four, indeed I have none of these, I'm free from shackles. The deity then asks what these four images actually stand for, and the answer unpacks them precisely: mother is called a little hut, wife a little nest, children a network, and craving the shackle. The deity's closing verse affirms each denial as good — it's good you have none of these.
Reading guide
A riddle in code, then decoded
The discourse's structure is unusually explicit for this collection: rather than leaving an image to interpretation, the deity directly asks ‘what do I call your little hut,’ and the reply directly supplies the answer. Few discourses in this vagga spell out their own symbolism this openly.
Mother, wife, children, craving
The code, once given, is precise: a ‘little hut’ (kuṭikā) names one's mother, a ‘little nest’ (kulāvaka) names one's wife, a ‘network’ (santānaka) names one's children, and a ‘shackle’ (bandhana) names craving (taṇhā) itself — the only one of the four that is not a relationship but an inner state.
Set against this vagga's earlier praise of family
SN 1.12 and SN 1.13, earlier in this vagga, both took children as at least an ambiguous source of feeling — delight, or fondness unmatched by anything else. This discourse's imagery is starker: mother, wife, and children are named outright as confinement, structurally paired with craving as their shared root.
Confirmation without further argument
The deity's final verse does not add a new claim; it simply confirms each denial as good, one by one, in the same four-part structure the whole discourse has used throughout. The riddle having been solved, nothing further is offered by way of justification.
Key terms
kuṭikā — “little hut,” this discourse's title and its code-word for one's mother — the first of four images to be decoded.
kulāvaka — “little nest” — the code-word for one's wife, the second image.
santānaka — “network” — the code-word for one's children, the third image.
bandhana — “shackle” — the code-word for craving (taṇhā) itself, the only one of the four images naming an inner state rather than a relationship.
muttosi bandhanā — “you are free from the shackle” — the reply's claim, confirmed as good in the deity's closing verse.
The text
The discourse in full: a four-part riddle, its literal answer, its decoding, and a closing confirmation. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
A riddle, asked directly
§1“Don’t you have a little hut? Don’t you have a little nest? Don’t you have any networks? Aren’t you free of shackles?” “Indeed I have no little hut. Indeed I have no little nest. Indeed I have no networks. Indeed I’m free from shackles.”
The code, requested and given
§2“What do you think I call your little hut? What do I call your little nest? What do I call your network? And what do I call your shackle?” “You call mother a little hut; and wife a little nest. You call children a network, and you call my craving a shackle.”
Confirmed as good
§3“It’s good you have no little hut! It’s good you have no little nest! It’s good you have no networks! And good that you’re free from shackles.”
· · ·
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 four things does the deity's opening question ask about?
Correct: A. Kuṭikā, kulāvaka, santānaka, bandhana — the riddle's four images.
Question 2 of 10
How does the reply answer the opening question?
Correct: A. Indeed I have no little hut, no little nest, no networks, and am free from shackles.
Question 3 of 10
What does the code, once given, reveal 'a little hut' to mean?
Correct: A. Māturaṁ kuṭikaṁ brūsi — the first image decoded.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'a little nest' name in the decoded answer?
Correct: A. Bhariyaṁ brūsi kulāvakaṁ.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'a network' name, and what does 'a shackle' name?
Correct: A. Putte santānake brūsi; taṇhaṁ me brūsi bandhanaṁ.
Question 6 of 10
Which of the four decoded images names an inner state rather than a relationship?
Correct: A. The only one of the four that is not a person or relationship.
Question 7 of 10
How does the deity's closing verse respond to the decoded answer?
Correct: A. Sāhu te kuṭikā natthi… — affirmation without new justification.
Question 8 of 10
How does this discourse's treatment of family compare to SN 1.12 and SN 1.13, earlier in this vagga?
Correct: A. A sharper framing than those two discourses' more ambiguous treatment.
Question 9 of 10
How many verses does this discourse's full exchange run to?
Correct: A. The longest exchange in this vagga up to this point.
Question 10 of 10
What is 'muttosi bandhanā'?
Correct: A. The reply's central claim, affirmed in the deity's closing verse.
