Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 55
दक्षिणाभिमुखो रात्रौ यश्च स्नाति विमूढधीः । शेते च शयने सोऽपि भक्षणीयश्च सत्वरम्
dakṣiṇābhimukho rātrau yaśca snāti vimūḍhadhīḥ | śete ca śayane so'pi bhakṣaṇīyaśca satvaram
迷える知により、夜に南を向いて沐浴し、また不相応の作法で床に就いて眠る者も、速やかに「食らわれるべき者」と宣せられる。
Narratorial (contextual instruction within the Māhātmya; explicit speaker not stated in this verse)
Type: ghat
Scene: Night at a ghat: a confused pilgrim faces south while bathing; behind him loom personified inauspicious forces, while a lamp-lit shrine indicates the correct, protected zone.
FAQs
Ritual acts in tīrthas should be done with proper orientation and restraint; negligence invites inauspicious consequences.
The verse occurs within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; the immediate verse emphasizes conduct rather than naming a single tīrtha.
Avoid bathing at night while facing south, and avoid improper sleeping conduct associated with such inauspicious orientation.