Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9
कृताश्च शपथास्तत्र स्नात्वा भागीरथीजले । अदुष्टचेतसा तेन दत्तं तत्पुस्तकं हृतम्
kṛtāśca śapathāstatra snātvā bhāgīrathījale | aduṣṭacetasā tena dattaṃ tatpustakaṃ hṛtam
Dort wurden, nachdem man im Wasser der Bhāgīrathī gebadet hatte, Eide abgelegt; und von ihm —dessen Sinn ihnen nicht verdächtig schien— wurde das gestohlene Buch übergeben, als wäre es rechtmäßig dargereicht.
Sūta (continuing narration)
Tirtha: Bhāgīrathī-snānā (Gaṅgā)
Type: ghat
Scene: On a riverbank, companions perform snāna; hands raised in oath. The accused appears serene and ‘unsuspected’, while the manuscript is produced and handed over as if legitimately given.
FAQs
Sacred acts like Gaṅgā-snān do not sanctify deceit; false oaths and wrongful appropriation remain potent causes of karmic downfall.
Bhāgīrathī-jala—i.e., the Gaṅgā river as a tīrtha—within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya context.
Bathing (snāna) in the Bhāgīrathī and the taking of oaths (śapatha)—with the implied prescription that such oaths must be truthful.