Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55
प्रभावेणैव गायत्र्याः क्षत्रियः कौशिको वशी । राजर्षित्वं परित्यज्य ब्रह्मर्षिपदमीयिवान्
prabhāveṇaiva gāyatryāḥ kṣatriyaḥ kauśiko vaśī | rājarṣitvaṃ parityajya brahmarṣipadamīyivān
গায়ত্রীর কেবল প্রভাবে সংযমী কৌশিক—ক্ষত্রিয় হয়েও—রাজর্ষিত্ব ত্যাগ করে ব্রহ্মর্ষি-পদ লাভ করলেন।
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya (standard frame, context-dependent)
Scene: Viśvāmitra (Kauśika), austere and self-mastered, stands in deep tapas with a radiant Gāyatrī aura above; the shift from rājārṣi to brahmarṣi is shown as a luminous coronation of spiritual rank rather than royal insignia.
FAQs
Gāyatrī-upāsanā has the power to transform one’s spiritual rank through discipline and inner mastery.
The verse appears in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework, supporting Kāśī’s teaching-tradition, though this specific line praises Gāyatrī’s power rather than a single tīrtha.
No explicit ritual is prescribed here; it cites Gāyatrī’s potency through sustained upāsanā.