DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49827#0162
THE LAW OF ADOPTION, HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED. 147
Among all fifteen sons, there are not more than four Lecture
who really deserve that designation,—viz., the son of the ViI-
body, i. e., the offspring of a legitimate marriage between Natural
his parents; the Bijin, i. e., one begotten by a man appointed sons,
to raise offspring to another, which offspring came after-
wards to be considered as the offspring of both j1 the son of a
twice-married woman,or concubine,and of course the Yatrak-
vachanotpadita or son begotten anywhere, whatever may
be the precise meaning of this term. The case of the Bijin
will have to be discussed in connection with the custom
of Niyoga. The divers positions assigned to the son of a
woman twice-married, which vary from the third to the
eleventh places, are characteristic of the various opinions
held in regard to the legitimacy of the remarriage of women.
The son begotten on a Cudra woman or concubine is a
fifth kind of real son. But he is mentioned by some
writers only; and some of those writers even who admit
him among the sons, notably Manu, have elsewhere pro-
hibited any marriage union with a Cudra woman.
All the other sorts of sons owe their being styled as Adopted
such to a legal fiction, which is either adoption itself, or sons-
at least closely allied to that ancient contrivance for sup-
plying the want of natural heirs and satisfying the craving
of primitive times for male descendants.
Thus the case of the appointed daughter and of the son The
of the appointed daughter is as closely analogous to adop- appointed
tion as possible. An appointed daughter is either one who daughter'
has been charged by a father devoid of male issue to per-
form the customary obsequies to him after his death, and,
consequently, to become his heir herself, or one who has
been given in marriage by a father destitute of male issue
on the condition expressed or implied that her son shall
be his. In the first case, the Putrika herself came to be
regarded as a son and to take a very high rank among
the twelve sons, as may be seen from a text of Vasishtha,
vachanotpadita means “ begotten in a low place,” i. e., on a woman of a
low birth, a woman of the Cudra caste. This explanation, which is
brought forward by Jagannatha, and mentioned by Nandapandita as well,
would make the Yatrak vachanotpadita identical with the Parapara or
Nishada, who is mentioned as the last kind of son by Manu, Baudhayana
and other authors. A fourth explanation which suggests itself is this—
that Yatrakvachanotpadita maybe the offspring of illicit intercourse with
another man’s wife, or with a concubine.
1 This is probably the precise meaning of the term Bijin. This kind of
son seems to be identical with the Dvyamushayayana of other writers.
Among all fifteen sons, there are not more than four Lecture
who really deserve that designation,—viz., the son of the ViI-
body, i. e., the offspring of a legitimate marriage between Natural
his parents; the Bijin, i. e., one begotten by a man appointed sons,
to raise offspring to another, which offspring came after-
wards to be considered as the offspring of both j1 the son of a
twice-married woman,or concubine,and of course the Yatrak-
vachanotpadita or son begotten anywhere, whatever may
be the precise meaning of this term. The case of the Bijin
will have to be discussed in connection with the custom
of Niyoga. The divers positions assigned to the son of a
woman twice-married, which vary from the third to the
eleventh places, are characteristic of the various opinions
held in regard to the legitimacy of the remarriage of women.
The son begotten on a Cudra woman or concubine is a
fifth kind of real son. But he is mentioned by some
writers only; and some of those writers even who admit
him among the sons, notably Manu, have elsewhere pro-
hibited any marriage union with a Cudra woman.
All the other sorts of sons owe their being styled as Adopted
such to a legal fiction, which is either adoption itself, or sons-
at least closely allied to that ancient contrivance for sup-
plying the want of natural heirs and satisfying the craving
of primitive times for male descendants.
Thus the case of the appointed daughter and of the son The
of the appointed daughter is as closely analogous to adop- appointed
tion as possible. An appointed daughter is either one who daughter'
has been charged by a father devoid of male issue to per-
form the customary obsequies to him after his death, and,
consequently, to become his heir herself, or one who has
been given in marriage by a father destitute of male issue
on the condition expressed or implied that her son shall
be his. In the first case, the Putrika herself came to be
regarded as a son and to take a very high rank among
the twelve sons, as may be seen from a text of Vasishtha,
vachanotpadita means “ begotten in a low place,” i. e., on a woman of a
low birth, a woman of the Cudra caste. This explanation, which is
brought forward by Jagannatha, and mentioned by Nandapandita as well,
would make the Yatrak vachanotpadita identical with the Parapara or
Nishada, who is mentioned as the last kind of son by Manu, Baudhayana
and other authors. A fourth explanation which suggests itself is this—
that Yatrakvachanotpadita maybe the offspring of illicit intercourse with
another man’s wife, or with a concubine.
1 This is probably the precise meaning of the term Bijin. This kind of
son seems to be identical with the Dvyamushayayana of other writers.