Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55
प्रभावेणैव गायत्र्याः क्षत्रियः कौशिको वशी । राजर्षित्वं परित्यज्य ब्रह्मर्षिपदमीयिवान्
prabhāveṇaiva gāyatryāḥ kṣatriyaḥ kauśiko vaśī | rājarṣitvaṃ parityajya brahmarṣipadamīyivān
Par la seule puissance de Gāyatrī, Kauśika, maître de lui-même—bien que Kṣatriya—délaissa l’état de rājārṣi et parvint au rang de Brahmarṣi.
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.