Dear list members,

in The Conquest of the Four Quarters, on p. 255-6, Jonathan Bader mentions Gāyatrī's curse upon the brahmins.

In discussing the tradition according to which Śaṅkara is the founder of six devotional denominations, Bader writes:

Nevertheless he [= Śaṅkara] realizes that Gāyatrī's curse upon the brahmins [...] has now come to pass. The brahmins of old who had argued with the goddess had indeed been born again in the kali-yuga with such limited capacities that they were attached to one deity or another.

Has anyone any suggestions as to which narrative Bader might be referring to? Since he mentions that the brahmins *argued* with Gāyatrī, I guess her curse is a reaction to a display of hubris by the brahmins.

I had to think of the Padmapurāṇa episode in which *Sāvitrī*, furious after seeing the cowherdess Gāyatrī take her place as Brahmā's wife, curses deities and brahmins alike. I wonder if a similar episode is told somewhere else with a few major differences.

I shall be grateful for any references, hints and comments.

All the best,

Gaia Pintucci