History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t2.403

v4.c63.t2.403

As regards succession to the property of a maiden there is no difference at all between the Mit. and other works. The Mit. quotes a text of Baudhāyana¹⁵⁴⁰ that the wealth of a deceased maiden first devolves on her full brothers, then on the mother and then on the father. The V. P. adds that on failure of the father the maiden's wealth goes to the parents' nearest sapiṇḍa.¹⁵⁴¹ Yāj. II. 146 provides that if a girl who had been promised in marriage dies before marriage, the intending bridegroom was entitled to take back the śulka or other gifts made by him after deducting his own expenses and those of her family.