Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

प्रभावेणैव गायत्र्याः क्षत्रियः कौशिको वशी । राजर्षित्वं परित्यज्य ब्रह्मर्षिपदमीयिवान्

Transliteration

prabhāveṇaiva gāyatryāḥ kṣatriyaḥ kauśiko vaśī | rājarṣitvaṃ parityajya brahmarṣipadamīyivān

Translation

Durch die bloße Macht der Gāyatrī gab der selbstbeherrschte Kauśika—obwohl ein Kṣatriya—den Stand eines rājārṣi auf und erlangte die Würde eines Brahmarṣi.

Word by Word

• प्रभावेण: by (the) power
• प्रभावेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधारणार्थक (emphatic)

• गायत्र्याः: of Gāyatrī
• गायत्र्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गायत्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• क्षत्रियः: a kṣatriya
• क्षत्रियः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

• कौशिकः: Kauśika (Viśvāmitra)
• कौशिकः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौशिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन; गोत्र/नाम

• वशी: self-controlled
• वशी: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वशिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• राजर्षित्वम्: the status of royal sage
• राजर्षित्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजर्षित्व (प्रातिपदिक: राजर्षि + त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—राजर्षि (राजा + ऋषि) तत्पुरुष + त्व-प्रत्यय

• परित्यज्य: having abandoned
• परित्यज्य: Kriya (Converb/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्ययभाव; धातु: त्यज्, उपसर्ग: परि

• ब्रह्मर्षिपदम्: the rank/state of a brahmarṣi
• ब्रह्मर्षिपदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मर्षि + पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मर्षेः पदम्)

• आयिवान्: attained/has reached
• आयिवान्: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-या (धातु)
• Form: कृत्-प्रत्यय: क्तवतु (Perfect participle/भूतपूर्व), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; धातु: या, उपसर्ग: आ

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya (standard frame, context-dependent)

Visual Art Cues

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.

Characters & Entities

• Gāyatrī
• Kauśika (Viśvāmitra)
• Brahmarṣi
• Rājarṣi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gāyatrī-upāsanā has the power to transform one’s spiritual rank through discipline and inner mastery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

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.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; it cites Gāyatrī’s potency through sustained upāsanā.