A tank in Anurādhapura built by King Pandukābhaya (Mhv.x.88). At its lower end was the settlement of the yakkha Cittarāja (Mhv.x.84).
In the hot weather it ran dry, and on one occasion Devānampiyatissa used its mud for building a temporary structure in which to deposit the relics brought from Jambudīpa (Mhv.xvii.35).
The hall which Dutthagāmani built round the Maricavatti Vihāra extended into a part of the Abhaya tank (Mhv.xxvi.20).
In the reign of Bhātikābhaya water was taken from the tank, by means of machines, up to the top of the Mahā Thūpa, for the sprinkling of the flowers offered there (Mhv.xxxiv.45).
The tank is generally identified with the modern Basavakkulam (Geiger, Mhv. trans. 74, n.3).