History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t1.20

v4.c63.t1.20

In course of time there was a revulsion of popular feeling against allowing a special share to the eldest son and even to the father. Kāt. (838)¹¹⁹² states that where the parents and brothers divide the whole joint property in equal shares that is a just (or legal) division. Bṛ. (S. B. E. 33¹¹⁹³ p. 370 verse 2) declares that the father and sons are entitled to equal shares in lands and houses that are ancestral, but in property acquired by the father the sons cannot claim a share against the will of the father. The V. M. (p. 95) remarks on this that it follows impliedly that in the wealth acquired by the grand-father or other (remoter) ancestor, the sons can demand a partition even against the father's desire.