The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c14.s1.11

c14.s1.11

There is evidence to show that the right of a brotherless daughter to inherit her father’s estate continued to be recognised down to *c.* 400 B. C. In the *Therīgāthā* we come across an interesting incident. We find a mother trying to dissuade her daughter Sundarī from entering the nunnery by pointing out that she had become a full heir to her father’s extensive estate as the latter had become a monk; she should therefore think of marriage and pleasure, and not of nunnery and penance³. It is clear from this story that a brotherless daughter was recognised as an heir in north-eastern India during the 5th century B. C.