Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.711

c7.711

of course this form is also known to the Smṛtis—a Brahman and not the brother-in-law receives the appointment, which may also be explained as the result of the modification of the text by the Brahmans from interested motives.¹ Even in the Śrautasūtras a kind of Kṣetraja—the dvyāmuṣyāyaṇa or dvipitṛ—is often mentioned; he is regarded as the son also of his natural father and the Dvyāmuṣyāyaṇa is mentioned also in the Smṛtis.² At the present day, if not Niyoga, at least marriage with the widow of a deceased brother is of common occurrence. Probably it is most popular in the Punjab where so much of what is ancient has been preserved; there it is called Karewa and very often causes a man to have two wives at the same time³.