"The Gayatri mantra was the gift to the world of the great Rishi Vishvamitra, seer of the third book of the Rigveda. Vishvamitra was one of the greatest Vedic Rishis, but also the most controversial. He began as a great king and warrior who wanted to add spiritual power to his worldly conquests. This brought him in contact and in conflict with Vasishtha, the greatest and purest of the Rishis. Vishvamitra persisted through all difficulties, including those created by his own ambition, until after a long period of struggle, through his willpower and tapas, he ultimately achieved Self-realization. Vishvamitra’s path, therefore, was more of human effort than Divine grace. His was the path of the warrior, of discipline and struggle, defeat and victory. He shows the development of an indomitable will that can overcome all obstacles and even challenge the Gods.
Vishvamitra by his tapas eventually created such an internal fire that it began to threaten the Gods in heaven by its heat. For this the Gods sent the celestial nymph (apsara) Menaka to seduce him and take him off his path. The strategy succeeded, but not for long, and to fulfill another purpose that perhaps the Gods had not planned. From his union with Menaka, Vishvamitra begat a daughter, Shakuntala, who eventually became the wife of King Dushyanta. From the union of Dushyanta and Shakuntala was born King Bharata, from whom the name of India as Bharat arose. The whole country of India, through its determinative dynasty carries the blood and spirit of Vishvamitra, which is closely connected to that of the warrior Goddess Durga."
~ Sri Vamadeva Shastri (Dr. David Frawley), "Hinduism and the Clash of Civilizations"
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