In Jain practice, cleanliness and purity are important for spiritual activities. Ideally, one should take a bath (snan) before doing swadhyaya (scriptural study) to be in a clean and prepared state.

If, however, you are unable to bathe at that moment (due to circumstances, time, etc.), you can begin swadhyaya with mental purity and a clean intention, and bathe as soon as you can. The important thing is the inner attitude and sincerity.

There can be minor differences between Digambar and Shwetambar practices regarding details, but the general principle is to value cleanliness and proper intention when studying Jain scriptures.