Historically, Viśvāmitra Gāthina was a Rigvedic rishi who was the chief author of Mandala 3 of the Rigveda. Viśvāmitra was taught by Jamadagni Bhārgava. He was the purohita of the Bharata tribal king Sudās, until he was replaced by Vasiṣṭha He aided the Bharatas in crossing the Vipāśa and Śutudrī rivers (modern Beas and Sutlej). In later Hindu texts, Viśvāmitra and Vasiṣṭha have a long-standing feud, and scholars have stated they historically had a feud regarding the position of the Bharata purohita. However, this view has been criticized due to lack of internal evidence and the projection of later views onto the Rigveda. In post-Rigvedic literature Viśvāmitra becomes a mythical sage.
Most of the stories related to Vishvamitra's life is narrated in the Valmiki Ramayana. Vishvamitra was a king in ancient India, also called Kaushika (descendant of Kusha) and belonged to Amavasu Dynasty. Vishvamitra was originally the King of Kanyakubja (modern day Kannauj). He was a valiant warrior and the great-grandson of a great king named Kusha. Valmiki Ramayana, prose 51 of Bala Kanda, starts with the story of Vishvamitra:
There was a king named Kusha (not to be confused with Kusha, son of Rama), a mindson (manasputra) of Brahma and Kusha's son was the powerful and verily righteous Kushanabha. One who is highly renowned by the name Gaadhi was the son of Kushanabha and Gaadhi's son is this great-saint of great resplendence, Vishvamitra. Vishvamitra ruled the earth and this great-resplendent king ruled the kingdom for many thousands of years.
His story also appears in various Puranas; however, with variations from Ramayana. Vishnu Purana and Harivamsha chapter 27 (dynasty of Amaavasu) of Mahabharata narrates the birth of Vishvamitra. According to Vishnu Purana, Kushanabha married a damsel of Purukutsa dynasty (later called as Shatamarshana lineage - descendants of the Ikshvaku king Trasadasyu) and had a son by name Gaadhi, who had a daughter named Satyavati (not to be confused with the Satyavati of Mahabharata).
Brahmarishi Vishwamitra’s life can be characterized into the following stages.
As King Kaushika, he was a Kshatriya who was attracted by Kamadhenu in Brahmarishi Vasishta’s ashrama.
After being defeated by the great sage Vasishta, he was convinced that Brahmavidya is more powerful than Shastravidya and set out on the course to become a Brahmarishi like Vasishta.
After years of penance, Lord Brahma blessed Kaushika with the title of Rajarishi meaning royal sage. However, Kaushika was not satisfied with it and continued with his penance in order to become Brahmarishi.
He faced a lot of challenges on the way and finally was blessed by Vasishta himself who addressed him as Brahmarishi. It was Vasishta who named this great sage as Vishwamitra, meaning the friend of the entire world.
Vishwamitra became a Rajarishi first and later became a Brahmarishi. When he became a Rajarishi, his name remained Kaushika and hence the people who refer to Kaushika as their gotra are the descendants of the Rajarishi Kaushika. The people who have Kaushika gotra can belong to either Brahmin or Kshatriya communities. And when he became a Rajarishi, he was in Mithila, a place in Nepal. Hence, people in the South and the North have Kaushika gotra. Maithili Brahmins, Kanyakubja Brahmins, Kashmiri Pandits, Deshastha/Madhwa Brahmins, Koknastha Brahmins, Vaidik Brahmins, and Niyogi Brahmins have this gotra. Not only this, 11 Royal clans of 96 clan of Marathas belong to Kaushika gotra including the illustrious house of Shivaji and the Rashtrakutas.
Vishwamitra gotra used by the descendants of Brahmarishi Vishwamitra, that is after he was blessed by Vasishta to become a Brahmarishi. Unlike Kaushika gotra, this is used by only Brahmins. It is one of the most important gotras for Brahmins and Madhwas and Deshastha Brahmin from Karnataka, Maharastra and Tanjavur have this gotra.
Both refer to the same person, the great Vishwamitra who is the only Brahmarishi to have earned the title through penance. The rest of the Brahmarishis are direct sons or manasaputras of Lord Brahma. Vishwamitra was the one who composed the great Gayatri mantra. The starting two lines in Venkatesha Suprabhata are said by him and look how beautifully he wakes up Lord Rama.
कौसल्यासुप्रजा राम पूर्वा संध्या प्रवर्तते ।
उत्तिष्ठ नरशार्दूल कर्त्तव्यं दैवमाह्निकम् ॥
kausalyāsuprajā rāma pūrvā sandhyā pravartate ।
uttiṣṭha naraśārdūla karttavyaṃ daivamāhnikam ॥
O Rāma, the noble son of Kausalyā! The Sandhyā
of the East commences. O! best of men (Purushottama)! Wake up, the divine daily rituals have to be performed
Every morning in most of the South Indian homes begins with these two lines and there is absolutely no ritual in Hinduism which doesn’t involve Gayatri mantra in someway. I bow down with great humility to this great sage who gave us so many gifts through his incredible knowledge.
