Vyavastha, Vyavastha. Vyavastha. Vyavastha. Authority. 166. NÁRADA:-A father must equally pay the debt of his son, contracted by his own appointment, or for the support of his family, or in a time of distress. Coleb. Dig., Vol. I, (Cal. Ed.), p. 305. 167. NÁRADA:-A debt contracted by the wife, shall by no means bind the husband, unless it were (for necessaries) at a time of distress: a man is indispensably bound to support his family.— Ibid., p. 321. 168. If a debt be contracted by a widow or the like for the liquidation of the debts of the late owner, or for the performance of an act or acts indispensably necessary, such debt must be discharged by the reversionary heirs of the late owner. Vide Precedents, pages 351, 352. 169. The debt contracted by any of the coheirs or co-parceners of a joint family-such as a father, son, brother, brother's son or the like,-for the support of the family, or for relieving it from distress, or for the performance of the act or acts indispensably necessary,-must be repaid by all the surviving co-heirs or co-parceners of the family. Vide Precedents, pages 348, 349, 350. NÁRADA:-Any one surviving parcener may be compelled to pay another's share of a debt contracted by joint tenants; but if they be dead, the son of one is not liable to pay the debt of another.-Coleb. Dig., Vol. I, p. 295. See the text of YÁJNAVALKYA and the exposition thereof in the preceding page. Arnotations. 169. Where the consideration of a debt may have been such as in. its nature to charge the common fund, as for the nuptials of any of the family, the expense attending them must have been reasonable, according to the usage and means of the family; beyond which, if carried to excess, he, who so imprudently contracted it, will be alone liable, unless it have been adopted by the rest. Contracted fairly, for the use of the family, by whatsoever member of it, it binds the whole.-Stra. H. L., Vol. I, p. 167. SECTION II. ON OBSEQUIES OF THE LATE PROPRIETOR AND OTHERS, OF THE FORMER. Two motives are indeed declared for the acquisition of wealth one temporal enjoyment, the other the spiritual benefit of alms and so forth. Now, since the acquirer is dead and cannot have temporal enjoyment, it is right that the wealth should be applied to his spiritual benefit. Accordingly VRIHASPATI says:-" Of the property which descends by inheritance, half should carefully be set apart for the benefit of the deceased owner, to defray the charges of his monthly, six monthly, and annual obsequies."* By saying "to defray the charges of his monthly, &c., obsequies," his participation, and by directing "religious purposes," his spiritual benefit, are stated as reasons. So ÁPASTAMBA ordains: "Let the pupil or the daughter apply the goods to religious purposes for the benefit of the deceased."+ Consequently,― 170. He who inherits or takes the estate of a Vyavasthi. deceased person must perform his obsequies, &c. Vide Precedents, pages 54, 59, 62, 353-355. He who takes the estate shall perform the obsequies.Coleb. Dig., Vol. III, p. 545. GOUTAMA :-Out of the paternal estate, nava shraddha (a) Authority. or the obsequies of the deceased must be performed, the heirs of the deceased being assembled together.‡ (a) "Nava Shraddha" means the first series of Shraddhas Explanation. collectively, or funeral offerings on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th days after a person's demise.‡ Annotations. 170. As with us, necessary funeral expenses are allowed the executor, previous to all other debts and charges, to this place may be referred the duty, enjoined by VRIHASPATI to the Hindú heir, of setting apart a portion of the inheritance, to defray, on behalf of the deceased, his monthly, six monthly, and annual obsequies,-on the ground of wealth being intended for spiritual benefit, as well as for temporal enjoyment.-Stra. H. L., Vol. I, p. 170. * See Precedents, page 353. + See Dá. Bhá., Chap. X, Sect. vi, § 13. + Vide Smriti-chandriká, Chap. II, Sect. ii, cl. 21. R Authority. Authority. Authority. Vyavastha. Authority. Authority. SANGRAHA-KÁRA:-Partition subsequent to the demise of the father is to be made after the performance of ekoddishta. (b)-Vide Smri. Chan., Chap. II, Sect. ii, Cl. 22. (b) This is a rite performed in honor of the deceased alone in contradistinction to Párvana, or double rite.-Vide Dattakaminansá, Sect. IV, § 72, and Sect. vi, § 55.-Notes. VRIHASPATI :-A brother, a brother's son, a sapinda, or pupil, performing rites with a funeral cake for the deceased, shall thence obtain increase (of prosperity).-Coleb. Dig., Vol. III, p. 545. VISHNU says:-"He who is heir to the estate, is the giver of the funeral oblations."-Ibid., p. 546. 171. But if one be heir to the estate, and another be qualified to perform the shraddha, he (the former) must give sufficient property and cause the rites to be celebrated by him who is qualified to perform them.* Vide Precedents, page 555. KÁTYÁYANA:-Heirless property goes to the king, deducting, however, a subsistence for the females, as well as the funeral charges: but the goods belonging to a venerable priest (Srotriya) let him bestow on venerable priests.-See Vyav. Mayú., Chap. IV, Sect. viii, § 5. "Even the king has competency for the performance of (the deceased's) shráddha (c). ́ In short, in default of all, the king should cause the shraddha of the deceased to be performed out of his inheritance."-Thus according to the Márkandeya Purána the king also has competency for the performance of shráddha.-Nirnoya-sindhu, Section 3rd, Leaf 22. (c) The word "shraddha" here signifies the obsequies performed after the death of a person.' * Annotations, 171. It is not a maxim of the law, that he who performs the obsequies is heir; but that he who succeeds to the property must perform them. (3 Dig. texts cccclv, cecelvii.)-Colebrooke. See Stra. H. L., Vol. II, p. 242. * Vide Coleb. Dig., Vol. III, pp. 545, 546. How can the spiritual preceptor, who takes the estate Remark. of a Kshatriya, perform his funeral rites, since that is forbidden in the text, "The priest who performs the funeral rites for persons of an inferior tribe is degraded to that class in the present world and in the next?" No, for this text relates to brothers unequal in class, and the difficulty is obviated by saying, that the spiritual preceptor may accomplish the funeral rites by the intervention of a qualified person equal in class with the deceased.-Coleb. Dig., Vol. III, p. 546. If in consequence of the heir of a deceased proprietor Authority. being in a different country there be a probability of the destruction of his property, then any one may apply his property to the purpose of his funeral obsequies as well as to the purpose of his religious merit; inasmuch as according to this text of NÁRADA-" Even any one, of his own accord, may perform the rites out of affection," he also is a substitute. This is explained in extenso in the Suddhitattwa.-Dáya-tattwa, Sans., p. 63. This is admitted by the author of the Dáya-bhága when he says, "The appropriation of the wealth of the deceased to his spiritual benefit in the mode which has been stated, should in every case be deduced according to the specified order."-Ibid. 172. The initiatory ceremonies of the unini- Vyavasthá. tiated brother and sister must be performed out of the patrimony by their brother or brothers who have been already initiated.† Annotations. 172. Not less obligatory upon the heirs is the charge for the initiation of the uninitiated, and the marriage of the unmarried members of the family. The duty of initiating attaches to those who have themselves been initiated; and the provision for it is to be made before partition, out of the common stock. It has been already intimated, that charges of this nature, to be available against the inheritance, must be reasonable; though this is seldom attended to.-Stra. H. L., Vol. I, pp. 170, 171. * Vide Dá. Bhá., Chap. XI, Sect. vi, § 30. + Dá. Kra. Sang., Chap. VIII, § 32.-See Dá. Bhd., Chap. III, Sect. ii, para, 38. Authority. Authority. Authority. Authority. Exposition. Exposition. Remark. VYASA-For any of the brothers, whose investiture and other sacraments had not been performed, the other brothers, of whom the sacraments have already been completed, shall perform those ceremonies (at the expense of the paternal estate), and for unmarried sisters, the sacraments shall be completed by their elder brothers, as the law requires." NÁRADA-For those whose initiatory ceremonies have not been regularly performed by the father in due order, the other brothers shall perform those ceremonies at the expense of the paternal estate.* : VRIHASPATI -For younger brothers, whose investiture and other ceremonies have not been performed, their elder brothers (d) shall perform them out of the collected wealth, or common estate, of the father (e).* (d) In this text,-"Brothers" means brothers whose father is dead. "Whose investiture and other ceremonies have not been performed:" add to these words, the phrase " by the father."+ The mention of brother brings in sisters also. Even so the same author.† VRIHASPATI :-And those unmarried daughters who are as yet uninitiated, must be initiated by their eldest brother, even out of the father's wealth, according to the (usual) rite.t (e) "Out of the common estate" is added to show that the joint stock is meant, it being already suggested that the ceremonies must be performed out of the estate of the father, in which the youngest brother has interést now the youngest has a claim on the common estate.-Coleb. Dig., Vol. III, p. 102. Consequently all the brothers, whether elder or younger, whether their sacraments have or have not been completed, shall contribute money for the ceremony (to be performed); but the eldest alone whose investiture has been performed is competent to conduct the ceremony.—Ibid., p. 103. Since a marriage subsequent to one which was legal cannot be considered as the last perfect rite (those ceremonies having been completed by the first contract); all the brothers shall not contribute to defray the second marriage of any one brother whose wife has deceased. He ought, however, to contract another Coleb. Dig., Vol. III, pp. 96, 99, 101, 102. |