Chittaura Jheel, also known as ''Ashtwarka jheel'') is a lake in
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
, India. It is situated about 8 km from
Bahraich
Bahraich is a city and a municipal board in Bahraich district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Located on the Saryu River, a tributary of the Ghaghara river, Bahraich is north-east of Lucknow, the state capital. The districts of Ba ...
city, on Gonda road, near Jittora or Chittaura village. Many migratory birds are also found here during August–October (late
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
period). A small river, Teri/Tedhi Nadi, originates from this lake. This river goes beyond Gonda and merges with the Saryu river. It is mentioned in the mythological texts as Kutila river.
Chittaura Jheel is a Hindu pilgrimage site. According to local legends, Ashtwarka Muni, the Guru of Maharaja Janak had become crooked from eight places of his body after being cursed. He had built an
ashram
An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions.
Etymology
The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Suhaldev and the Muslim invader Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud where Suhaldev defeated Ghazi.
In April 1950, Hindu organizations planned a fair at the ''dargah'' of Salar Masud, to commemorate Suhaldev. The local administration banned the fair to prevent Hindu-Muslim violence, which led to protests by Hindus. Ultimately, the administration lifted the prohibitory orders. The local
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
representative inaugurated the fair at Chittaura. Shri Suhaldev Smarak Samiti ("Suhaldev Monument Committee") was formed in 1954 to construct a temple of Suhaldev. Raja Birendra Bikram Singh, a rincely estateruler of Payagpur donated 500 igha of land (including the Chittora Lake) to the Samiti
A temple of Suhaldev, with several paintings and sculptures, was constructed on this land. In 2001, Hindu activists formed the Maharaja Suhaldev Sewa Samiti, which has been organizing various programmes to commemorate Suhaldev as a defender of the Hindu faith.
Today, a temple complex known as Raja Suhaldev Darbar is situated at the site. A statue of Raja Suhaldev along with a temple dedicated to Goddess Durga is present within the premises of this complex. The statue shows Raja Suhaldev sitting on a horse holding a bow and arrow. He is wearing the dress of a maharaja with a crown. Every year, fairs are organized here as per Hindu calendar on
Kartik Purnima
Kartika Purnima is a Hindu, Sikh and Jain cultural festival that is celebrated on Purnima (full moon day), the 15th (or 30th) lunar day of the month of Kartika. It falls in November or December of the Gregorian calendar and is also known as ...
The Chittaura Jheel supports diverse stock of carps, catfishes, perches, feather backs, gobies and puffers.
A study was carried out from October, 2020 to September, 2021 to investigate the diversity of fishes and the conservation status of Chittaura Jheel. During the study period, 38 fish species belonging to 28 genera, 14 families and 7 orders have been identified. The order Cypriniformes was found the dominated order with 15 species(39.47%) followed by Siluriformes 10 species (26.31%), Perciformes 4 species (10.52%), Ophiocephaliformes 4 species (10.52%), Synbranchiformes2 species (5.26%), Osteoglossiformes 2 species (5.26%) and Clupiformes 1 species (2.63 %). According to IUCN, 30 are enlisted as Least Concern (LC), 2 species as near endangered (NE), 3 species as near threatened (NT), 2 listed as Endangered (EN) and 1 species was listed as Vulnerable (VU).
There is a need of conservation of biodiversity of this natural wetland.