History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.1104

v4.c63.1104

When the son's right of ownership by birth in ancestral property came to be recognised by such smṛtis as that of Yāj., it followed as a logical consequence that any person who acquires a right by birth can demand partition and separate possession of his share at any time. It has been already seen that even before Gautama sons separated from their father against his will, but this was condemned by the sages and obloquy and infamy attached to such conduct. Some of the smṛtis recognised the son's right to partition even in the father's lifetime under great restrictions. More than fifteen centuries passed (from Gautama to the Mitākṣarā) before the son's right to separate from his father during the latter's lifetime and against his desire was clearly, ungrudgingly and emphatically recognized. The Viramitrodaya also clearly recognizes this right of the son. But even among writers that generally follow the Mit. there were some that could not bring themselves to admit this right of the son. For example, the Madanapārijāta (p. 662) asserts that merely at the will of the son there can be no partition. Under the Dāyabhāga, these questions cannot arise, as the son has no right by birth in ancestral property.