History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c71.s1.294

v5.c71.s1.294

Whether an act made a man liable to undergo prāyaścitta depended in some cases on the country also. For example, marrying a maternal uncle's daughter was and is allowed in certain countries and among certain castes in the Deccan and Southern India on the ground of custom, but such a practice was severely condemned by Manu XI. 171–172 and Baud Dh S. I 1 17–24 and other smṛtis. Bṛhaspati refers to this custom as prevalent among southerners and states that in these countries persons following it are not liable to undergo prāyaścitta or penalty (at the hand of the king). Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 462 for Bṛhaspati's verses.