Matsyagandha Lake (मत्स्यगंधा) is a 1.50 km by 200 m artificial lake in the Sattar Kataiya block of

Saharsa district Saharsa is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India. Saharsa city is the administrative headquarters of this district. Saharsa district is a part of the Kosi Division and it became a district on 1 April 1954 and has subsequently become ...

of Northern Bihar region in India. The lake was conceptualized in 1996, by the then Saharsa Collector, Tej Narayan Lal Das, as a development of wasteland used to cremate bodies. As a result of neglect, the lake shrunk between 2006 and 2017, almost disappearing by 2018. In June 2020 the lake was planned to be renovated at the cost of ₹ 7.47 Crore (USD 1.02 M), by the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali mission under the Government of Bihar, to be carried out by th
State Department of Minor Water Resources
and includes increasing the depth by 2 meters, expanding the size of the lake to 81 acres, and capacity to 6000 m³.

Etymology

The name of the lake is derived from the semi-mythical character of Matsyagandha, the wife of

King Shantanu Shantanu (Sanskrit: शंतनु) is a character in the Mahabharata, described as the ruler of the Kuru Kingdom with his capital at Hastinapura. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, a forebear of the lineage of the Lunar dynasty, and the ...

. She is also the mother of the sage

Vyas Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...

, fathered by the wandering

rishi ''Rishi'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or ...

(sage) Parashara.

Facilities

There is a Matsyagandha temple nearby, which houses a small temple pond with idols of Gods and Goddesses. The lake has the facility for boating and speed-boating at a chargeable basis, however, due to low water levels, boating is intermittent. There are plans for lake improvement for tourism by developing an 8 feet wide pavement lined with trees and park benches.

References

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