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
మూఢబుద్ధితో రాత్రి దక్షిణాభిముఖంగా స్నానము చేసి, అలాగే అనుచితంగా శయనమున నిద్రించువాడు—అతడును తక్షణమే భక్షణీయుడని చెప్పబడెను।
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.