Chittaura Jheel

Chittaura Jheel, also called Ashtwarka Jheel, is a lake near Chittaura village, about 8 km from Bahraich on the Gonda road. The small Tedhi (Teri) river, identified with the Kutila of mythological texts, rises here and runs beyond Gonda to join the Saryu. Local legend says that the sage Ashtwarka, guru of King Janak, whose body had been bent in eight places by a curse, kept an ashram beside the Tedhi and was made whole by bathing in the river daily, and the lake is a Hindu pilgrimage site.

The ground beside it is identified as the site of a battle in 1033 in which King Suhaldev defeated Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud. The Raja Suhaldev Darbar temple complex now stands here, with a statue of the king on horseback holding a bow and a temple to Durga, and fairs are held at Kartik Purnima and Basant Panchami. Migratory birds visit from August to October, and a 2020–21 survey recorded 38 species of fish.