The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology c12.s3.7

c12.s3.7

Nārada’s code of law deals in the introductory chapter with legal procedure, complaints and courts of justice. Then the law is classified under eighteen titles similar to those of Manu, except the minor differences and the fact that Nārada eschews entirely the social and religious items contained in the former's encyclopaedic treatise. Nārada's classification includes debt, deposits, partnership, breach of labour contracts, boundary disputes, marital relations, inheritance and heinous offences. Like Manu and Yājnavalkya he is liberal and sympathetic in his treatment of the rights of illegitimates, permitting an illegitimate son to inherit his maternal grandfather’s property (xiii : 18). But he differs substantially from these authorities in that he holds that even the youngest son, “if able,” may govern the family and manage its property (xiii : 5) and allows a father to distribute the property among his sons in whatever proportion he desires (xiii : 4, 15). In his system the widow may inherit part of her husband’s property, while unmarried daughters may share in their father’s estate (xiii : 3, 12, 13). The right to divorce and remarriage is allowed to women on many grounds (xii : 96-101). Books xii and xiii of the *Nārada-smriti* are the embodiments of modernism in ancient Hindu conceptions of property and marriage. As the exponent of a secular and realistic view of the law Nārada appears to be as prominent a figure in comparative jurisprudence as is Śukra in comparative politics.