Twins, Mr. Marten states, are not usually considered to be
inauspicious. [65] "It is held that if they are of the same sex they
will survive, and if they are of a different sex one of them will
die. Boy twins are called Rama and Lachhman, a boy and a girl Mahadeo
and Parvati, and two girls Ganga and Jamuni or Sita and Konda. They
should always be kept separate so as to break the essential connection
which exists between them and may cause any misfortune which happens
to the one to extend to the other. Thus the mother always sleeps
between them in bed and never carries both of them nor suckles both
at the same time. Again, among some castes in Chhattisgarh, when the
twins are of different sex, they are considered to be _pap_ (sinful)
and are called Papi and Papin, an allusion to the horror of a brother
and sister sharing the same bed (the mother's womb)." Hindus think
that if two people comb their hair with the same comb they will lose
their affection for each other. Hence the hair of twins is combed with
the same comb to weaken the tie which exists between them, and may
cause the illness or death of either to follow on that of the other.