Note 50 — Chapter V · WORSHIP OF THE MALEVOLENT DEAD.
Reading edition
The ghost called Jān manifests itself as a giant, its height reaching the sky. If a man comes under its shadow, he is seized by it and dashed to pieces on the ground. On the contrary, if a man wins its favour, he becomes prosperous. Hence a proverb has been current that “seizing another as by a jān” meaning “being attacked by a dire misfortune.”50