If a child weeps all day long, or a person finds his appetite very weak, the evil is attributed to an evil eye.[5]
If milch cattle do not give milk, or if seva (vermicelli), pāpad (wafer biscuits), pickles, dudhpāk (rice cooked in milk and sweetened with sugar) or such other eatables are spoilt, it is believed that the evil eye is at the root of the trouble.[6]
It is believed that the following objects are liable to be influenced by an evil eye:—
(1) Persons having fine glossy hair, fiery eyes, exquisite form, refined gait, fine speech or good handwriting, (2) good sportsmen, (3), pickles, (4) pāpad (wafer biscuits), (5) seva (vermicelli), (6) all attractive objects.
If a person falls ill after he is praised, he is said to have been a victim of an evil eye.[7]
The precautions taken to evade the influence of the evil eye are as follows:—
(1) When children are dressed and decked with ornaments, a spot is made on their cheeks or near their necks with a black pigment or collyrium, as it is believed that the dark colour is an antidote against the influence of the evil eye.
(2) Some efficacious inscription is engraved on a copper plate, which is suspended round the child’s neck.
(3) A bead of kachakada is also worn round the neck.
(4) A tiger’s nail or tooth is worn round the neck.