Sahkhayana Grzhya-sutra III, 13, and in the Aaturmasya portion of the Kanaka recension of the Black Ya^ur-veda. According to the former work it is to be recited by an Anyatrakarawa, ' the son of a paramour.' But the Ka/^as prescribe its use by every sacrificer who offers a A^aturmasya sacrifice. Medh., Gov., and Kull. probably allude to the custom of the latter school when they say that the Mantra must be recited by every sacrificer, and that its viniyoga or destination is to be repeated at the A^aturmasya and at the Anvash- /aka-jraddha. Gov., Kull., Ragh., Nar., and Nand. explain reta^, 1 seed,' by matnra^orupaw skannam, and vrmktam, ' may he keep away/ either by bha^atam (svikarotu, Nar., Nand.), ' may he take for himself/ or by jodhayatu, 'may he purify' (Gov., Kull., Ragh.). Medh. likewise knows the last explanation. But he gives also another, reta^ pitu^ sambandhi yad reta^ ^ukram, and vrmktam, apanudatu, which comes nearer to that given above. Nidarjanam, 'a scriptural text/ means according to Medh., dr/sh/anta^, 'an example/ and the other commentators explain it similarly.
22. I.e. as a river becomes salt after uniting with the ocean. It must be borne in mind that, according to the Indian poets, the rivers are the wives of the ocean.
23. Akshamala or Arundhati was a A^aWali (Gov., Ragh.), and became, as the -SYuti states (Ragh.), with the permission of the i\?zshis, the wife of the sage Vasish//$a. The story of Mandapala is told in the Mahabharata I, 8335 seq. (Adhy. 229). Medh., Gov., and K. read Sarngi instead of -Sarangi or Sarangi.
LAWS OF MANU.
r F ty attained eminence in this world by the respective good qualities of their husbands.
25. Thus has been declared the ever pure popular usage (which regulates the relations) be- tween husband and wife; hear (next) the laws con- cerning children which are the cause of happiness in this world and after death.
26. Between wives (striya^) who (are destined) to bear children, who secure many blessings, who are worthy of worship and irradiate (their) dwel- lings, and between the goddesses of fortune (mya/£, who reside) in the houses (of men), there is no difference whatsoever.
27. The production of children, the nurture of those born, and the daily life of men, (of these matters) woman is visibly the cause.
28. Offspring, (the due performance of) religious rites, faithful service, highest conjugal happiness and heavenly bliss for the ancestors and oneself, depend on one's wife alone.
29. She who, controlling her thoughts, speech, and acts, violates not her duty towards her lord, dwells with him (after death) in heaven, and in this world is called by the virtuous a faithful (wife, sadhvl).
30. But for disloyalty to her husband a wife is censured among men, and (in her next life) she is born in the womb of a jackal and tormented by diseases, the punishment of her sin.
27. Instead of pratyaham, ' the daily (life of men),' Medh. and Nar. read pratyartham, '(the life of men) in all its details,' and Gov. prityartham, ' the friendly intercourse of men,' because he who has no wife cannot entertain others (Gov., Kull., Ragh.). Medh. mentions also another reading, pratyardham.
30. Vas. XXI, 14; see also above, V, 164.
IX, 36. DUTIES OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. ^^ 31. Listen (now) to the following holy discussion, salutary to all men, which the virtuous (of the pre- sent day) and the ancient great sages have held concerning male offspring.
32. They (all) say that the male issue (of a woman) belongs to the lord, but with respect to the (meaning of the term) lord the revealed texts differ; some call the begetter (of the child the lord), others declare (that it is) the owner of the soil.
33. By the sacred tradition the woman is declared | to be the soil, the man is declared to be the seed; the production of all corporeal beings (takes place) through the union of the soil with the seed. J 34. In some cases the seed is more distinguished, and in some the womb of the female; but when both are equal, the offspring is most highly esteemed.
35. On comparing the seed and the receptacle (of the seed), the seed is declared to be more im-<A portant; for the offspring of all created beings is marked by the characteristics of the seed.
36. Whatever (kind of) seed is sown in a field, prepared in due season, (a plant) of that same kind, 32. Ap. II, 13, 6-7; Gaut. XVIII, 9-14; Vas. XVII, 6-9, 63-64. Thus Gov., Kull., Ragh., and Nand. But Medh., Nar., and K. (prima manu) read kartari instead of bhartari, and with this reading the verse has to be translated as follows: ' They (all) declare that a (lawfully begotten) son belongs to the husband, but with respect to the begetter (of a child on another's wife) there is a conflict between the revealed texts; some declare the begetter (to be the owner of the son), others that (he belongs to the) owner of the soil.'
34. The commentators point out the cases of Vyasa and i?/shya- jrihga as instances of the truth of the first proposition, and of Dhn'tarash/ra and other Kshetra^-as as instances of the second. 1 Equal,' i. e. ' belonging to the same owner and to the same class' (Medh.).
LAWS OF MANU.
marked with the peculiar qualities of the seed, springs up in it.
3 j. This earth, indeed, is called the primeval womb of created beings; but the seed develops not in its development any properties of the womb.
38. In this world seeds of different kinds, sown at the proper time in the land, even in one field, come forth (each) according to its kind.
39. The rice (called) vrlhi and (that called) sail, mudga-beans, sesamum, masha-beans, barley, leeks, and sugar-cane, (all) spring up according to their seed.
40. That one (plant) should be sown and another be produced cannot happen; whatever seed is sown, (a plant of) that kind even comes forth.
41. Never therefore must a prudent well- trained man, who knows the Veda and its Angas and desires long life, cohabit with another's wife.
42. With respect to this (matter), those acquainted with the past recite some stanzas, sung by Vayu (the Wind, to show) that seed must not be sown by (any) man on that which belongs to another.
43. As the arrow, shot by (a hunter) who after- wards hits a wounded (deer) in the wound (made by 37. 'Develops not any properties of the womb,' i. e. 'shows no properties such as being composed of earth' (Medh., Gov., Kull.).
39. Vrihi, i.e. such rice as ripens in sixty days (shash/ika);.rali, i.e. ' red rice, which ripens in the cold season' (Gov., Nar.). Mudga, i. e. Phaseolus Mungo (mug); masha, i. e. Phaseolus Radiatus.
41. Vi^wana, 'the knowledge of the Ahgas' (Kull.), means according to Medh. and Nar., ' profane knowledge; ' according to Ragh., ' the tradition.' Nand. inverts the order, and says, 'profane and sacred learning.'
43. Or, according to a second explanation offered by Medh., 'As the arrow of the hunter who hits a wounded deer is shot into the air (as it were) and becomes useless.'
IX, 47* DUTIES OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. 335 another), is shot in vain, even so the seed, sown on what belongs to another, is quickly lost (to the sower).
44. (Sages) who know the past call this earth (przthivi) even the wife of Frzthu; they declare a field to belong to him who cleared away the timber, and a deer to him who (first) wounded it.
45. He only is a perfect man who consists (of three persons united), his wife, himself, and his off- spring; thus (says the Veda), and (learned) Brah- ma^as propound this (maxim) likewise, ' The hus- band is declared to be one with the wife/ 46. Neither by sale nor by repudiation is a wife released from her husband; such we know the law to be, which the Lord of creatures (Pra^apati) made of old.
47. Once is the partition (of the inheritance) made, (once is) a maiden given in marriage, (and) once does (a man) say, ' I will give;' each of those three (acts is done) once only.
44. ' Though the earth, after she belonged to Prz'thu, was possessed by many kings, yet she is called Prz"thivi, or Prz'thvi, after her first owner Pn'thu' (Medh., Nar.).
45. In confirmation of the first maxim the commentators adduce a passage of the Va^asaneyi-brahmawa; see also Ap. II, 14, 16.
46. The meaning is that a wife, sold or repudiated by her hus- hand, can never become the legitimate wife of another who may have bought or received her after she was repudiated (Medh.).
47. Yagfi. I, 65. 'A partition (of the inheritance),' i. e. ' one which has been made in accordance with the law, not one made unjustly' (Gov., Kull., Ragh.). Medh. mentions two other ex- planations: 1. * if one of the coparceners complains afterwards that he has received too little, he is entitled only to have the particular point readjusted, not to annul the whole division;' 2. 'if after the division it appears that one of the coparceners was disqualified by bodily defects and ought not to have received a share, the portion LAWS OF MANU.
r t r ■^ 48. As with cows, mares, female camels, slave- girls, buffalo-cows, she-goats, and ewes, it is not the begetter (or his owner) who obtains the offspring, even thus (it is) with the wives of others.
49. Those who, having no property in a field, but possessing seed-corn, sow it in another's soil, do indeed not receive the grain of the crop which may spring up.
50. If (one man's) bull were to beget a hundred calves on another man's cows, they would belong to the owner of the cows; in vain would the bull have spent his strength.
51. Thus men who have no marital property in women, but sow their seed in the soil of others, benefit the owner of the woman; but the giver of the seed reaps no advantage.
52. If no agreement with respect to the crop has been made between the owner of the field and the owner of the seed, the benefit clearly belongs to the owner of the field; the receptacle is more important than the.sged. ^ 35 jfr bv\t^d«^i^ 53. But if by a special contract (a field) is made over (to another) for sowing, then the owner of the seed and the owner of the soil are both considered in this world as sharers of the (crop).
54. If seed be carried by water or wind into made over to him cannot be resumed by the others.' Nar. refers the phrase 'I will give' to a verbal promise to give a girl, made without a libation of water. I read with Medh., Gov., Ragh., Nand., and K. sakrzt sakn't, instead of satazrc sakrz't, ' those three (acts are done) once among good men.' The object of the verse is to show that a marriage is indissoluble, because a girl can be given once only (Kull., Nand.).
54. I read with Gov., Ragh., and K. bigi, ' the owner of the IX, 59- DUTIES OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. 337 somebody's field and germinates (there), the (plant sprung from that) seed belongs even to the owner of the field, the owner of the seed does not receive the crop.
55. Know that such is the law concerning the offspring of cows, mares, slave-girls, female camels, she-goats, and ewes, as well as of females of birds and buffalo-cows. __ 56. Thus the comparative importance of the seed and of the womb has been declared to you; I will next propound the law (applicable) to women in times of misfortune.
57. The wife of an elder brother is for his j younger (brother) the wife of a Guru; but the wife of the younger is declared (to be) the daughter-in- j law of the elder.
58. An elder (brother) who approaches the wife | of the younger, and a younger (brother who ap- ^ proaches) the wife of the elder, except in times of misfortune, both become outcasts, even though j (they were duly) authorised.
59. On failure of issue (by her husband) a woman who has been authorised, may obtain, (in the) proper (manner prescribed), the desired offspring by (coha- bitation with) a brother-in-law or (with some other) Sapinda. (of the husband).
seed/ instead of vapta, ' the sower of the seed' (Medh., Kull., Nand.).
55. ' Such is the law/ i.e. what has been stated in verses 48-54. , 56. ' In times of misfortune/ i.e. 'when there is no male offspring.'
57. Guru means here, according to Ragh., 'the father.' As the younger brother's wife is called 'the daughter-in-law' of the elder, tl)e explanation is probably correct.
58-63. Gaut. XVIII, 4-8; Vas. XVII, 56-61; Baudh. II, 4, 59. A woman can be authorised by her husband, or after his 60. He (who is) appointed to (cohabit with) the widow shall (approach her) at night anointed with clarified butter and silent, (and) beget one son, by no means a second.
61. Some (sages), versed in the law, considering the purpose of the appointment not to have been attained by those two (on the birth of the first), think that a second (son) may be lawfully procreated on (such) women.
62. But when the purpose of the appointment to (cohabit with) the widow has been attained in accordance with the law, those two shall behave towards each other like a father and a daughter- in-law.
63. If those two (being thus) appointed deviate from the rule and act from carnal desire, they will both become outcasts, (as men) who defile the bed of a daughter-in-law or of a Guru.
64. By twice-born men a widow must not be appointed to (cohabit with) any other (than her hus- band); for they who appoint (her) to another (man), will violate the eternal law.
death by his relatives. ' On failure of issue,' i. e. ' of sons' (Gov., Ragh., Nand.), or ' of sons and of an appointed daughter' (Medh.). If the son born is not fit to offer the -S'raddhas, a second may be begot (Medh., Kull., Nar.).
60. According to the commentators, the expression ' the widow' is not intended to prohibit an appointment by a diseased or impotent husband.
61. ■ Because the Sish/as say, " He who has one son only, has no son'" (Medh., Gov., Kull., Ragh.).
62. ' Those two,' i.e. ' the elder brother and the female appointed.'
63. ' Those two,' i. e. ' an elder or younger brother/ ' The rule,' see verse 60. For the las'- ~*ause, compare verse 57.
64-68. These verses flatly contradict the rules given in the pre- ceding ones. But it by no means follows that they are a modern IX, 70- DUTIES OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. 339 65. In the sacred texts which refer to marriage the appointment (of widows) is nowhere mentioned, nor is the re-marriage of widows prescribed in the rules concerning marriage.
66. This practice which is reprehended by the learned of the twice-born castes as fit for cattle is said (to have occurred) even among men, while Vena ruled.
67. That chief of royal sages who formerly possessed the whole world, caused a confusion of the castes (vanza), his intellect being destroyed by lust.
68. Since that (time) the virtuous censure that (man) who in his folly appoints a woman, whose husband died, to (bear) children (to another man).
69. If the (future) husband of a maiden dies after troth verbally plighted, her brother-in-law shall wed her according to the following rule.
70. Having, according to the rule, espoused her (who must be) clad in white garments and be intent addition. For the same view is expressed by Ap. II, 27, 2-6, and was held, according to Baudh. II, 3, 34, by Aupa^andhani. More- over the Brzhaspati Smrz'ti states expressly (Colebrooke IV, Dig. CLVII) that the contradictory statement occurred in the Manava Dharmajastra, known to its author.
65. In his commentary on verse 66 Medh. points out that in other sacred texts, Rig-veda X, 40, 2, the Niyoga is mentioned.
66. According to the epic and Pauramc tradition Vena was- the father of Pnthu, and a godless king, who demanded that the sacri- fices should be offered to himself, not to the gods. He was, there- fore, cut to pieces by the Brahmawas with blades of Kma grass. But hitherto no other passage has been found where it is stated that he introduced the practice of Niyoga. Possibly the assertion of the Manava may have grown out of the etymological import of the word vena, ' full of desire or lust/ 70. The child born by a female thus married belongs, as the commentators point out, to her deceased betrothed...r i 34O LAWS OF MANU. TX, 71 on purity, he shall approach her once in each proper season until issue (be had).
71. Let no prudent man, after giving his daughter to one (man), give her again to another; for he who gives (his daughter) whom he had before given, incurs (the guilt of) speaking falsely regarding a human being.
J2. Though (a man) may have accepted a damsel in due form, he may abandon (her if she be) blemished, diseased, or deflowered, and (if she have ^K been) given with fraud.
73. If anybody gives away a maiden possessing blemishes without declaring them, (the bridegroom) may annul that (contract) with the evil-minded giver.
74. A man who has business (abroad) may de- part after securing a maintenance for his wife; for a wife, even though virtuous, may be corrupted if she be distressed by want of subsistence.
75. If (the husband) went on a journey after pro- viding (for her), the wife shall subject herself to restraints in her daily life; but if he departed with- out providing (for her), she may subsist by blame- less manual work.
71. Yagri. I, 65; Vi. XXV, 9-10. Regarding the guilt incurred, see above, VIII, 98. Medh. and Nand. say that the verse is meant to forbid the marriage of a girl whose betrothed died. But Kull. thinks that it refers to all cases where a betrothal has taken place, and that it removes a doubt which might arise through a too strict interpretation of VIII, 227.
72. 'In due form/ i.e. 'with a libation of water and in the presence of Brahma^as' (Medh., Kull., Ragh.). ' Blemished/ i. e. 'by evil bodily marks' (Medh., Kull., Ragh., Nand.), or 'by being of a base family' (Nar.).
74. Nand. inserts verses 95-96 after this.
75. Yagri. I, 84. 'Shall subject herself to restraints in her daily IX, 8o. DUTIES OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. 341 j6. If the husband went abroad for some sacred duty, (she) must wait for him eight years, if (he went) to (acquire) learning or fame six (years), if (he went) for pleasure three years.
j j. For one year let a husband bear with a wife who hates him; but after (the lapse of) a year let him deprive her of her property and cease to cohabit with her.
78. She who shows disrespect to (a husband) who is addicted to (some evil) passion, is a drunkard, or diseased, shall be deserted for three months (and be) deprived of her ornaments and furniture.
79. But she who shows aversion towards a mad or outcast (husband), a eunuch, one destitute of manly strength, or one afflicted with such diseases as punish crimes, shall neither be cast off nor be de- prived of her property.
80. She who drinks spirituous liquor, is of bad life/ i.e. 'shall not adorn herself, nor visit the houses of strangers, or go to festivals' (Medh., Kull., Ragh.).
76. Gaut. XVIII, 15, 17; Vas.XVII, 75-80. Kull, Nar., and Ragh. declare that after the expiration of the terms mentioned the wife shall go to seek her husband. Nand. says, ' the meaning is that no sin is committed if she afterwards takes another husband.' Medh. holds that she shall support herself, as before, by blameless occupations and remain chaste. He mentions the opinion of others, according to which she may take another husband in accordance with Narada's and Parajara's precepts, but rejects it. ' For pleasure,' i. e. ' in order to gain the favours of another woman whom he prefers' (Medh., Kull., Ragh.).
77. ' Her property,' i.e. ' the ornaments and other wealth given to her by himself (Kull., Ragh., Nand.), or ' her separate property, which he may have given to her' (stridhana, Nar.). The com- mentators add that she must, however, be maintained.
78. 'Addicted to (some evil) passion,' i.e. 'to gambling and so forth' (Kull., Nar.), or ' to avarice' (Ragh.).
80. 'Diseased,' i.e. 'afflicted with leprosy or the like' (Kull.); conduct, rebellious, diseased, mischievous, or waste- ful, may at any time be superseded (by another wife).
8 1. A barren wife may be superseded in the eighth year, she whose children (all) die in the tenth, she who bears only daughters in the eleventh, but she who is quarrelsome without delay.
82. But a sick wife who is kind (to her husband) and virtuous in her conduct, may be superseded (only) with her own consent and must never be disgraced.
83. A wife who, being superseded, in anger de- parts from (her husband's) house, must either be instantly confined or cast off in the presence of the family.
84. But she who, though having been forbidden, drinks spirituous liquor even at festivals, or goes to public spectacles or assemblies, shall be fined six krzsh/zalas.
85. If twice-born men wed women of their own and of other (lower castes), the seniority, honour, and habitation of those (wives) must be (settled) according to the order of the castes (vama).
86. Among all (twice-born men) the wife of equal caste alone, not a wife of a different caste by any means, shall personally attend her husband and assist him in his daily sacred rites.
8 J. But he who foolishly causes that (duty) to be 1 mischievous,' i.e. ' who beats or ill-treats her children, servants, &c.' (Medh., Nar., Kull.).
83. 'Of the family,' i. e. ' of her own and the husband's family' (Medh.), or • of her own family' (Kull., Nar.).
86. Vi. XXVI, i; YSgn. I, 88. < Personally attend,' i. e. ' prepare and bring his food, &c.' (Medh., Kull., Ragh.).
87. Vi. XXVI, 2. Instead of 'by the ancients ' (Kull., Ragh., IX, 93' DUTIES OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. 343 performed by another, while his wife of equal caste is alive, is declared by the ancients (to be) as (despi- cable) as a Aa/zdala (sprung from the) Brahma^a (caste).
88. To a distinguished, handsome suitor (of) equal (caste) should (a father) give his daughter in ac- cordance with the prescribed rule, though she have not attained (the proper age).
89. (But) the maiden, though marriageable, should rather stop in (the father's) house until death, than that he should ever give her to a man destitute of good qualities.
90. Three years let a damsel wait, though she be marriageable; but after that time let her choose for herself a bridegroom (of) equal (caste and rank).
91. If, being not given in marriage, she herself seeks a husband, she incurs no guilt, nor (does) he whom she weds.
92. A maiden who choses for herself, shall not take with her any ornaments, given by her father or her mother, or her brothers; if she carries them away, it will be theft.
93. But he who takes (to wife) a marriageable Nand.), Medh. says, ' since olden times,' Nar. ' in the Pura//a.' Regarding the origin of the ^aw^/alas, see below, X, 12.
88. 'Though she have not attained (the proper age)/ i.e. 'the age of eight years' (Kull., Nar., Ragh.), or 'before she is bodily fit for marriage '(Medh., Nand.). Medh. specially objects to the first opinion, ' because men greedy of money give even an infant in marriage.'
92. I read with Medh. and Nand., steyaw syat, instead of stena syat, 'she will be a thief (Kull., Ragh., K.). Medh. mentions another reading, stena^ syat, ' he, i.e. the bridegroom, will be a thief.'
93. Medh. says that this verse, according to ' some,' does not belong to Manu (ke/l'id ahu-6 amanavo 'yam slokak).
4 i damsel, shall not pay any nuptial fee to her father; for the (latter) will lose his dominion over her in consequence of his preventing (the legitimate result of the appearance of) her menses.
94. A man, aged thirty years, shall marry a maiden of twelve who pleases him, or a man of twenty-four a girl eight years of age; if (the per- formance of) his duties would (otherwise) be im- peded, (he must marry) sooner.
95. The husband receives his wife from the gods, (he does not wed her) according to his own will; doing what is agreeable to the gods, he must always support her (while she is) faithful.
96. To be mothers were women created, and to be fathers men; religious rites, therefore, are or- dained in the Veda to be performed (by the hus- band) together with the wife.
97. If, after the nuptial fee has been paid for a maiden, the giver of the fee dies, she shall be given in marriage to his brother, in case she consents.
94. Medh. and Kull. point out that this verse is not intended to lay down a hard and fast rule, but merely to give instances of suit- able ages. ' If (the performance of) his duties would be impeded, &c.,' i. e. ' if he has finished his studentship earlier, he must marry at once in order to be able to fulfil his duties as a householder' (Kull., Nar., Ragh.).
95. 'From the gods,' i.e. 'from those mentioned in the Mantras recited at the wedding, e. g. from Bhaga, Aryaman, Savitrz', &c/ (Kull., Ragh.), or 'from Agni' (Nar.), or 'from Soma, the Gan- dharva, and Agni' (Medh., Nand.). Medh. reads vindetaniffiaya, 'shall wed without a wish on his part,' but mentions the other reading, vindate nekkkaya, too. According to Medh., Kull., and Ragh., a faithful wife must be supported, even if she does not love her husband.
97. 'His brother,' i.e. 'his full brother, who is even (as) the deceased himself (Nar.). Regarding the nuptial fee, and the IX, 104- DUTIES OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. 345 98. Even a 6udra ought not to take a nuptial fee, when he gives away his daughter; for he who takes a fee sells his daughter, covering (the transaction by another name).
99. Neither ancients nor moderns who were good men have done such (a deed) that, after promising (a daughter) to one man, they gave her to another; 100. Nor, indeed, have we heard, even in former creations, of such (a thing as) the covert sale of a daughter for a fixed price, called a nuptial fee.
1 01. ' Let mutual fidelity continue until death/ this may be considered as the summary of the highest law for husband and wife.
102. Let man and woman, united in marriage, constantly exert themselves, that (they may not be) disunited (and) may not violate their mutual fidelity.
103. Thus has been declared to you the law for a husband and his wife, which is intimately connected with conjugal happiness, and the manner of raising offspring in times of calamity; learn (now the law concerning) the division of the inheritance.
104. After the death of the father and of the mother, the brothers, being assembled, may divide among themselves in equal shares the paternal (and the maternal) estate; for, they have no power (over it) while the parents live.
contradiction between this and the next verses, see note on 99. Nand. places this verse after the next.
104. Gaut. XXVIII, 1; Baudh. II, 3, 8; Y&gn. II, 117. The father's estate is to be divided after the father's death, and the mother's estate after the mother's death (Kull., Nar., Ragh., Nand.). The mother's estate devolves on the sons only on failure of daughters (Nar.). The word urdhvam, 'after/ indicates by implication that the rule holds good in the case of the (father's) r 4 r 4 105. (Or) the eldest alone may take the whole paternal estate, the others shall live under him just as (they lived) under their father.
106. Immediately on the birth of his first-born a man is (called) the father of a son and is freed from the debt to the manes; that (son), therefore, is worthy (to receive) the whole estate.
107. That son alone on whom he throws his debt and through whom he obtains immortality, is be- gotten for (the fulfilment of) the law; all the rest they consider the offspring of desire.
108. As a father (supports) his sons, so let the eldest support his younger brothers, and let them also in accordance with the law behave towards their eldest brother as sons (behave towards their father).
109. The eldest (son) makes the family prosperous or, on the contrary, brings it to ruin; the eldest (is considered) among men most worthy of honour, the eldest is not treated with disrespect by the virtuous.
no. If the eldest brother behaves as an eldest brother (ought to do), he (must be treated) like a turning ascetic (Ragh.). The equal division takes place if the eldest does not desire to receive an additional share (Kull.). The last clause shows that a division of the property may take place with the parents' permission during their lifetime (Kull., Nar., Ragh.).
105. Gaut. XXVIII, 3; Baudh. II, 3, 13. I.e. if the eldest son is virtuous (Kull., Ragh.), or possesses particularly eminent qualities, while the others are less distinguished (Nar.).
106. Regarding the debt, see Vas. XI, 48.
107. This verse alludes to the Vedic text quoted, Vas. XVII, 1; Vi.XV,45.
108. I.e. if they make no division and the eldest takes the whole estate (Kull.). Nand. places this verse after the next.
no. 'Behaves as an eldest brother (ought to do),' i. e. 'duly protects and educates the younger ones ' (Medh., Kull., Nar., Ragh.).
IX, ii4. INHERITANCE. 347 mother and like a father; but if he behaves in a manner unworthy of an eldest brother, he should yet be honoured like a kinsman.
in. Either let them thus live together, or apart, if (each) desires (to gain) spiritual merit; for (by their living) separate (their) merit increases, hence separation is meritorious.
112. The additional share (deducted) for the eldest shall be one-twentieth (of the estate) and the best of all chattels, for the middlemost half of that, but for the youngest one-fourth.
113. Both the eldest and the youngest shall take (their shares) according to (the rule just) stated; (each of) those who are between the eldest and the youngest, shall have the share (prescribed for the) middlemost.
114. Among the goods of every kind the eldest shall take the best (article), and (even a single chattel) which is particularly good, as well as the best of ten (animals).
'Like a kinsman/ i.e. Mike a maternal or paternal uncle' (Medh., Kull., Ragh.); see also below, verse 213.
in. Gaut. XXVIII, 4. '(Their) merit increases,' i.e. 'each of them has to kindle the sacred fire, to offer separately the Agni- hotra, the five great sacrifices and so forth, and hence each gains separately merit' (Medh., Kull.).
112. Gaut. XXVIII, 5-7; Baudh. II, 3, 9; Vi. XVIII, 37; Y&gfi. II, 114. ' The remainder shall be divided equally,' see verse 116 (Medh., Kull., Nar., Ragh.). Medh. says that ' some' declare that the rules on the unequal partition refer to past times, and have no authority for the Kaliyuga. But he rejects this view.
113. The object of the verse is to show that no difference shall be made between sons intervening between the eldest and the youngest, however great their number may be (Kull., Ragh.).
114. Gaut. XXVIII, 11-13; Baudh. II, 3, 6. '(Even a single chattel) which is particularly good,' i.e. 'a dress or an orna- ment' (Medh.), or ' something impartible like an idol ' (Nand.).
348 LAWS OF MANU.
115. But among (brothers) equally skilled in their occupations, there is no additional share, (consisting of the best animal) among ten; some trifle only shall be given to the eldest as a token of respect.