The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c21.54

v1.c21.54

It is no part of the present discussion to enter into the confusing details of the laws of inheritance; only to show in what state were these laws at the time of the Sūtras. The latest Sūtra, however, already stands on a level with the formal law-books, and, for example in this matter of inheritance, is not content with the vague 'sons' of the earlier authors but makes a formal classification of the (later legal) 'twelve sons,' six of whom are entitled to inherit as 'heirs and kinsmen' while six (kinds) are 'kinsmen but not heirs,' among the last being the son of a Çūdra wife.