Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.785

c7.785

Outside Bengal the principle based on the above-mentioned texts of the Mit. is observed, viz. every member of the family immediately on his birth is entitled to a share of the joint-property and therefore must be consulted in case of sale or disposition of same.² This principle is hardly reconcilable with the right of primogeniture and the unlimited patria potestas ; yet they are frequently still observed particularly among noble families, inasmuch as after the death of the father the eldest son receives the family idols (as prescribed in Hār. 4, 15), represents the family at the sacrifices to the manes, marriages, depositions of evidence and similar other public duties, or, as prescribed in the Smṛtis, takes over the management of the property or even the whole inheritance ¹. The institution of "joint-family" is spread all over India and is found even in the customary law of the Punjab ² which is quite free from any influence of the Smṛtis.