TABLE OF THE ORDERS OF SUCCESSION TO THE DIVERSE DESCRIPTIONS OF STRI-DHAN OR WOMAN'S PECULIUM.

ORDER OF SUCCESSION TO THE PECULIUM OF AN UNMARRIED daughter. 1 The whole brother. 2 The mother. 3 The father.

Failing these, her parents' relations, as they happen to be, succeed according to the order of succession to a childless woman's property. q. v.

To a betrothed girl's property given by her to-be husband,-First, the husband succeeds; in his default, the above mentioned heirs succeed according to the above order

ORDER OF SUCCESSION TO THE STRÍ-DHAN OF A MARRIED

ORDER OF SUCCESSION TO A CHILDLESS MARRIED WOMAN'S STRÍ-DHAN.

Given by her parents before marriage, her fee or gratu ity, or bestowed after marrioget

Other than that given by her parents, before marriage, her fee or gratuity, or bestowed after marriage.

* See ante. pp. 718,719. + See ante, p. 719. ‡ ante, p. 719,720. § ante, pp. 726,727

Husband's sister's son, 13
Her own brother's son, 14
Her son-in-law,

The Sapindas, §

The Sakulyas, §

15

Samanodakas, §

16

Samana-gotras, §

Husband's elder brother, 17 Samana-pravaras,§

CHAPTER IX.-ADOPTION

Vyavastha

SECTION I,-A SON IS NECESSARY.

488. It is necessary for every person to have a son for the presentation of the oblations of food and libations of water, the discharge of his debts (spiritual and temporal,) and the attainment of future beautitude..

I. A Brahmana, immediately on being born, is

Authority. produced a debtor on three obligations: to the holy

saints, for the practice of religious duties: to the gods, for the performance of sacrifice: to his fore-fathers, for offspring. Or, he is absolved from debt who has a son, has performed sacrifices, and practises religious duties. D. Mim. Sect. I., § 5.

II. When he has paid three debts to the sayes, the manes, and the gods, let him apply his mind to final beautitude; but low shall he fall, who presumes to seek beautitude, without having discharged those debts. After he has read the Vedas in the form prescribed by law, has legally begotten a son, and has performed sacrifices to the best of of his power, (and has paid his three debts,) he may then apply his heart to perternal bliss. But if a Brahmana have not read the Veda, if he have not begotten a son, and if he have not performed sacrifice, yet shall aim at final beautitude, he shall sink to a place of degradation. MANU, Ch. VI, vs. 35-37.

III. Fathers desire male offspring for their own sake, (reflecting,) this son will redeem me from every debt whatsoever due to superior and inferior being therefore a son, begotten by him, should relinquish his own property, and assiduously redeem his father from debt, lest he fall to a region of torment. If a devout man, or one who maintained the sacrificial fire, die a debtor, all the merit of his devout austerities, or of

* The future beautitude of a man depending, according to Hindu superstition, on the performance of his obsequies and the payment of his debts by a son, as the means of redeeming him from an instant state of suffering after death. The dread is, of a place called put; a place of horror, to which the manes of the childless are supposed to be doomed ; there to be tormented with hunger and thirst, for want of those oblations of food and libations of water, at prescribed periods which it is the pious, aud indeed indispensable, duty of a son (put-tra) to offer.-Str. H. L, Vol. 1. pp. 61. 92.

his perpetual fire, shall belong to his creditors.-NÁRADA. See Coleb. Dig. Vol. I. p. 299. (Calcutta edition.)

IV. He, who, having received a sum lent or the like does not repay it to the owner, will be born (here-after) in his creditor's house, a slave, a servant, a woman, or a quadruped.--VRIHASPATI.-Ibid.

V. From passages of scripture, such as, "or he is absolved from debt who has issue," &c. this precept resulting, 'Let him procure absolution from debt through a son,' it is established, that the son, as being the instrumental cause of such absolution, is a means of completion.—D. Mím. Ch. I. § 38.

VI. The precept enjoining the production of a son being positive, its result is that the contravention of it, is the cause of an offence.-D. Mim. Ch. I. § 5.

VII. Heaven awaits not one destitute of a son.-Ibid.

VIII. Since a son delivers (tráyate) his father from the hell called 'put,' therefore he is named put-tra by the Self-Existent himself.—MANU and VISHNU.

IX. Certain hell is named 'put;' and he, who is destitute of offspring is tormented in hell; a son is therefore called put-tra, because he delivers his father from those regions of horror.-HÁRÍTA.

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A father is exonerated in his life time from the debt to his own ancestors, upon seeing the countenance of a living son: he becomes entitled to heaven by the birth of his son, and devolves on him his own debt. The sacrificial hearth, the three Vedas, and sacrifices rewarded with ample gratuities, have not the sixteenth part of the efficacy of the birth of an eldest son.-SHANKHA and LIKHITA.

XI. By a son, a man conquers worlds; by a son's son, he enjoys immortality; and, afterwards, by the son of a grandson, he reaches the solar abode.-MANU, SHANKHA, LIKHITA, VISHNU, VASHISHTHA, and HÁRÍTA.

XII. The attainment of worlds, immortality and heaven depend on a son, grandson, and great-grandson.-JÁGNYAVALKYA.

XIII. The sage DANDAPÁLA, desiring admission to a region of bliss was repulsed by the guards who watch the abode of progenitors, because he had no male no male issue.-Mahá-bháratu.-See Coleb. Dig. Vol. III. p. 253.

liar property of a woman, the succession devolves on the husband's younger brother: for the right of the husband's younger brother and the rest to succeed at that time has been propounded by VRIHASPATI in the following text :

"The mother's sister, the maternal uncle's wife, the paternal uncle's wife, the father's sister, the mother-in-law, and the elder brother's wife are pronounced similar to mothers: if they leave no issue of their bodies, nor son, nor daughter's son, nor son of those persons, the sister's son and the rest shall take the property."*

:

But the order of succession prescribed by the above text is not to be respected; for if this were the case, it would follow that the husband's younger brother would succeed last, and this would be improper, since he confers greater benefits than all the others who are specified in that text; and the following texts of MANU: "To three ancestors (i. e. the father, paternal grandfather and great-grandfather) must water be given at their obsequies; for three is the funeral cake ordained to the nearest sapinda the inheritance next belongs," are recited in a treatise of inheritance, for the purpose of exhibiting that the order of succession takes place according to the greater or less benefits conferred; otherwise the introduction of them in such a treatise would be useless; consequently the order of succession must be understood as taking place according to the proximity of benefits conferred, and, this being the case, the order inferable from the spirit of the text, rather than that derived from the letter of it, must be respected. Therefore the husband's younger brother is the first entitled to the succession, because he presents oblations to the woman, to her husband, and to three persons to whom her husband had to offer oblations, and he is moreover a sapinda.-Dá. kra. sang. pp. 59-62.

*The word issue (ourasa) in this text implies both son and daughter. Nor son.' must be considered as intending the son of a rival wife,' It must not be supposed discriminative of the word 'issue,' since it would be unmeaning, and it would follow that the succession devolved on the husband's younger brother and the rest, even while the son of a rival wife was existent, "Nor son of those persons:' here by 'those persons' the son, and the son of a contemporary (or rival) wife are intended: the expression does not refer to the damsel's son and daughter's son's son, for the damsel's son is included in the term daughter's son, and the daughter's son's son confers no benefits, being incompetent to present the funeral offering (to the woman's husband.) By the term Va' or (of nor) the sons of the son and of the son of the rival wife are to be understood.-Dá. kra. sang. p. 60.

Since the text (of VRIHASPATI) enumerates sister's son,' &c., if the order of succession consequently be, first the sister's son, then the husband's sister's son, next the child of the husband's younger brother, afterwards the child of the husband's elder brother, then the son of the brother, after him the son-in-law, and subsequently the younger brother-in-law, the right would devolve last of all on the younger brother of the husband, contrary to the opinion and practice of venerable persons; therefore, the text is propounded, not as declaratory of the order of inheritance, but as expressive of the strength of the fact, (namely, of the benefits conferred.) Thus it is declared by MANU under the head of inheritance; "To three ancestors must water be given at their obsequies; for three is the funeral oblation of food ordained the fourth is the giver of oblations; but the fifth has no concern with them." In like manner JÁGNYAVALKYA shows succession to property in right of the funeral oblation: "Among these (sons of various descriptions,) the next in order is heir, and giver of oblations, on failure of the preceding." The son's preferable right too appears to rest on his presenting the greatest number of beneficial oblations, and on his rescuing his parent from hell. And a passage of VRIDDHA SHÁTÁTAPA expressly provides for the funeral oblations of these women: "For the wife of a maternal uncle, or of a sister's son, of a fatherin-law, and of a spiritual parent, of a friend and a maternal grandfather, as well as for the sister of the mother or of the father, the oblation of food at obsequies must be performed. Such is the settled rule among those who are conversant with the Vedas." This then is the order of succession, according to the various degrees (of benefit to the owner of the property) from the oblation of food at obsequies. In the first place, the husband's younger brother is entitled to the woman's property; for he is a kinsman (sapinda,) and presents oblations to her, to her husband, and to three persons to whom oblations were to be offered by her husband.-Coleb. Dá. bhá. pp. 97, 98.

Vyavastha

478. In his default, the succession devolves at once upon the sons of the husband's younger and elder brothers.*

* Dá, kra. sang. p. 62;-Da. bh. pp. 98, 100.-See also Macn. H. L. Vol. I. pp. 39, 40 and Elb. In. pp. 86, 87.