Baba Jitto and His Daughter, Devotee of Maa Vaishno Devi
Baba Aghar Jitto
Baba Aghar Jitto was a spiritual devotee of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi.Baba Jitto is a revered figure in the folklore of Jammu and Kashmir. His shrine, Baba Jitto Temple, is located in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, not far from Katra.
The temple is located at distance of only five Kms from Katra Bus Stand.
The water stream flowing near the temple is considered very pious for expecting and other ladies.
Baba Jitto, originally known as Jit Mal, was an honest and truthful farmer. A Brahmin and devotee of Mata Vaishno Devi and Raja Mandalik. Jit Mal used to live in Aghar village near Katra, Vaishno Devi.
Baba Jitto, the legendary farmer who laid his life to fight oppression by landlords. He was a great devotee of Maa Vaishno. Baba Agar Jitto was a revolutionary who campaigned against feudal system.
According to Local saying Baba Jitto had to travel a long distance in search of water to carry out puja at Vaishno Devi as there was no water in Aghar jitto. After daily carrying water from such long distance one day goddess offered him a wish and instead of asking for Wealth he requested availability of water for his village farmers and seven springs came out from different places and provided water for drinking and fields.
He used to travel everyday from Aghar to Holy cave of Vaishno maa in order to perform puja there. Happy by his bhakti Maa Vaiishno devi offered him another wish. Baba jitto asked the deity to take birth in his home as his daughter and his wish was granted by the deity. Soon a girl child born to Jitto’s wife but his wife died soon after she gave birth to the child.
Death of his wife means death of his daughter as the girl child need to be breastfeed otherwise she will die too. Jitto asked Maa Vaishno Devi to help him otherwise his daughter will die.
Maa told him to put the mouth of his daughter to your breast and your breast will start lactating. Same happened with Jitto and his Daughter survived.
Jitto Unwilling to put up any more with the hostile behaviour of his Aunt Jojan, he decided to leave the Aghar village. along with his daughter Bua Kori, and go to his friend, Iso Megh at Kahnachak. There he requested Mehta Bir Singh, a feudal lord of the Ambgrota, to provide a piece of land for tilling.
Mehta Bir Singh gave Jit Mal a piece of barren land after signing an agreement, that he would give him the one-fourth of his produce. Jit Mal’s hard work transformed the barren land into a luxuriant crop. When Bir Singh got the news about the good yield, he arrived at the fields along with his men and asked them to lift three fourth of the crop and eave only a quarter with Jit Mal. Bawa Jitto pleaded Mehta Bir Singh to follow the terms of the agreement but the goons of Mehta forcibly took the lion share of the crop.
Incensed by the injustice, helpless Jitmal while uttering last words ‘SUKKI KANAK NAIN KHAYAAN MEHTYA, DINNA RATT RALAYI” (don’t eat raw wheat, oh Mehta, let me mix my blood in it’), stabbed himself sitting on the heap of crop, leaving all grains drenched red with his blood.
Bua Kori with help of their pet dog Kalu, located her father’s dead body hidden in the Simbal tree trunk by the goons of Mehta. She then lit the pyre and burnt herself with her father. It is said after that a fierce rain storm raged the that locality
The blood strained grains were washed away. And all those people, even the birds, who had partaken those grains later suffered from various afflictions, (They all started dancing and ‘chowki’ ) including diseases, untimely deaths, misfortunes and ‘jatars’.
To seek pardon from the wrath of the holy spirit, they not only asked for his forgiveness by worshiping him as a ‘kul devta’-family deity, but also making it mandatory on their future generations to venerate BABA JITTO and pay annual homage at his shrine.
The Samadhi of Baba Ji was stationed at Jhiri over 650 years back on the occasion of Kartik Purnima and ever since then another convention Mela named Jhiri mela is also organized every year and is visited by lots of devotees, perform rituals Jhiri Mela is feted every year in October-November.
You must know
The taxi fare can range from ₹150 to ₹200 for a round trip from Katra to Nau Devi Mandir and back.
Auto-rickshaw fare can range from ₹100 to ₹200 or more for a round trip.
The temple is on the main Katra Reasi road.
Small shops for Tea and Snacks are available surroundings.