The king of Āḷavi. He was in the habit of holding a hunt once in seven days to keep his army in trim. One day when he was hunting, the quarry escaped from where the king lay in wait and, according to custom, it became the king’s duty to capture it. He, therefore, followed the animal for three leagues, killed it and, having cut it in half, carried it in a pingo. On his way back he happened to pass under the banyan tree which was the abode of the yakkha Āḷavaka. The yakkha had been granted a boon by the yakkha-king, which allowed him to eat anybody who came within the shadow of the tree. Accordingly, he seized the king, but later released him on obtaining his promise that he would provide him at regular intervals with a human being and a bowl of food (SnA.i.217 ff).

For the rest of the story see Āḷavaka Yakkha.