Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.813

c7.813

§ 24. *Law of heirship.* In the joint-family every fully authorised member is entitled to the privileges of a member of the family simply on account of his birth and the two expressions *dāyāda* "coparcener, heir" and *sapinḍa* "one who takes part in the funeral oblation, agnate," are therefore often used one for another. The latter term indicates a more primitive character of the Indian law of inheritance—its close connection with the sacrifices to the manes. "He who inherits the property, offers also the *pinḍa*" says Vi. 15, 40, and *vice versa*, he who offers the *pinḍa*, i. e. performs, with the consent of his relations, the funeral ceremonies for a deceased person, is frequently regarded to be the heir to the deceased according to popular conceptions. The juridical significance of this rule should not however be over-emphasieed. It is an exaggeration to consider the law of inheritance to be merely spiritual law in which the performance of the usual funeral sacrifice is rewarded with the claim of inheritance¹. Of course in most cases the two coincide, yet however Pinḍas are given, for instance, also to the three female ascendants and the three Matāmahas, i. e. the father of the mother and his two male ascendants, although the offerer of the Pinḍa does not inherit the property of these relations.²