Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 132
विवादे च समुत्पन्ने अपराधी च यो मतः । जलहस्तः सदा वाच्यो महीसागरसंगमे
vivāde ca samutpanne aparādhī ca yo mataḥ | jalahastaḥ sadā vācyo mahīsāgarasaṃgame
Lorsqu’un différend éclate et que l’un est tenu pour fautif, au confluent de la Mahī et de l’Océan, qu’il soit toujours soumis à l’épreuve sacrée de la «main dans l’eau» (jala-hasta) comme test.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Mahīsāgara-saṅgama
Type: sangam
Scene: A public dispute scene at the confluence: elders/priestly figures preside; the accused steps forward to perform jala-hasta—hand immersed/raised with water as the divine witness—while the river-sea horizon looms solemnly.
FAQs
Dharma is upheld through sacred procedures: tīrthas are portrayed as places where truth is tested and wrongdoing is exposed.
Mahī–Sāgara Saṅgama.
The jala-hasta—an ordeal/test involving water and the hand, used as a dhārmic proof in disputes.