The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c14.s3.3

c14.s3.3

The right of the mother to inherit the property of her son was recognised fairly early. Manu, who does not recognise the widow as an heir, concedes to the mother the right to inherit the property of a son dying without any issues (IX, 217). All the jurists concur with Manu in this matter. Some of them do not even allow sons to partition family property as long as the mother is alive. In practice the widowed mother was regarded as the sole controller of the estate, though the sons were its legal heirs and owners. Hindu culture held the mother in very high reverence; so her right of inheritance came to be recognised much earlier than that of the wife or the widow. In every day life, however, occasions were very few when property passed to a mother as the next heir of an issueless son. The recognition of this right did not therefore give rise to many exceptions to the general view of early times that women should not be recognised as heirs. The grandmother's claim to inherit her grandson's property was also recognised very early for reasons similar to those which operated in favour of the mother. In actual practice, however, not even one grand-mother in a million could have got an opportunity of being benefited by this concession. For she was a fairly distant heir and came only after the parents and brothers of the deceased. The recognition of the widow, on the other hand, as the next heir to an issueless husband was a revolutionary step, as it was sure to give rise to a large number of female heirs in actual practice. A long time therefore had to elapse before it could be taken.