Note 59 — Chapter IV · WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS AND SAINTS.
Reading edition
At Kolhápur, people believe that sneezing and yawning forebode evil, and the practice is to repeat the following words at the time of sneezing and yawning, viz, Shatanjiva i.e. Live a hundred years, and also to repeat the name of Rám, while snapping the thumb and finger (chutaki). In the case of a person suffering from a serious illness, sneezing is supposed to indicate a cure. If a woman sneezes while a man speaks, it is lucky, and if a man sneezes it is unlucky. The reverse is the case in respect of females.59