DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49827#0172
THE LAW GE ADOPTION, HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED. 157
adoption of a boy who has been voluntarily consigned by Lecture
his natural to his adoptive parents. The ceremonies to be VTT-
performed on this occasion are described in the Vasishtha- ■
smriti (XV. 1, ii), in Caunaka’s Putuasangrahavidhi and
in a Parcishta, in the Sutra style, to Baudhayana’s Grihya-
sutra. The texts of Caunaka and Baudhayana have been
published and translated by Dr. Buhler.1 Nearly the whole
of these texts is moreover quoted in the Vyavahara, Mayu-
khaand other translated Digests. The following rules may
be deduced from these texts and from a number of shorter
texts dispersed through the works of the late Jurists, omit-
ting those which are of doubtful authenticity:—1. Adoption
shall only take place on failure of sons. 2. The adopted son
shall be similar'2 to the adopter, and shall resemble a natural
son like his shadow. This is the Roman principle Adoptio
imifatus naturam. The rules on adoption have been
considerably influenced by it both in India and in Rome.
3. In particular, he shall be a near relative, or at least a
distant relative, if possible. I. He shall not be an only
son. 5. He may be given by his two parents, or by either
of them. Vasishtha says that the mother cannot give him
without the assent of the father. Whether this extends
to the widow as well must seem doubtful. 6. The same
rules hold good in regard to the adopting parents. 7. The
rule that the adopted son should not be more than five
years old occurs in a text of doubtful authority. But
the definitions given of the Dattaka as opposed to the
Kritrima son show that adoption in the Dattaka form was,
as a rule, confined to one who had not yet arrived at years
of discretion. 8. The act of adoption itself consists of
the solemn delivery of the child to his new parents, which
takes place before witnesses, and should be accompanied
by the performance of a sacrifice (Datta-homa) and the
recitation of Mantras. 9. The Mantras and ceremonies
vary according to the particular Vedic School to which the
adoptive father belongs. The effect of adoption is to make
the adopted son pass entirely into his adoptive family, and
to give him a full right of succession to ^,11 members of it.
1 Journ. Beng. As. Soc., Vol. XXXV ; Sacred Books, XIV.
2 Mann IX. 169. Medhatithi explains similar as denoting not one simi-
lar in class, but one endowed with qualities suitable to his adoptive
family. The other Commentators refer this term to one equal in class
(Vurna) or caste (Jati), and this interpretation has been adopted by nearly
all Digest-writers, in conformity with the usage of their own age.
adoption of a boy who has been voluntarily consigned by Lecture
his natural to his adoptive parents. The ceremonies to be VTT-
performed on this occasion are described in the Vasishtha- ■
smriti (XV. 1, ii), in Caunaka’s Putuasangrahavidhi and
in a Parcishta, in the Sutra style, to Baudhayana’s Grihya-
sutra. The texts of Caunaka and Baudhayana have been
published and translated by Dr. Buhler.1 Nearly the whole
of these texts is moreover quoted in the Vyavahara, Mayu-
khaand other translated Digests. The following rules may
be deduced from these texts and from a number of shorter
texts dispersed through the works of the late Jurists, omit-
ting those which are of doubtful authenticity:—1. Adoption
shall only take place on failure of sons. 2. The adopted son
shall be similar'2 to the adopter, and shall resemble a natural
son like his shadow. This is the Roman principle Adoptio
imifatus naturam. The rules on adoption have been
considerably influenced by it both in India and in Rome.
3. In particular, he shall be a near relative, or at least a
distant relative, if possible. I. He shall not be an only
son. 5. He may be given by his two parents, or by either
of them. Vasishtha says that the mother cannot give him
without the assent of the father. Whether this extends
to the widow as well must seem doubtful. 6. The same
rules hold good in regard to the adopting parents. 7. The
rule that the adopted son should not be more than five
years old occurs in a text of doubtful authority. But
the definitions given of the Dattaka as opposed to the
Kritrima son show that adoption in the Dattaka form was,
as a rule, confined to one who had not yet arrived at years
of discretion. 8. The act of adoption itself consists of
the solemn delivery of the child to his new parents, which
takes place before witnesses, and should be accompanied
by the performance of a sacrifice (Datta-homa) and the
recitation of Mantras. 9. The Mantras and ceremonies
vary according to the particular Vedic School to which the
adoptive father belongs. The effect of adoption is to make
the adopted son pass entirely into his adoptive family, and
to give him a full right of succession to ^,11 members of it.
1 Journ. Beng. As. Soc., Vol. XXXV ; Sacred Books, XIV.
2 Mann IX. 169. Medhatithi explains similar as denoting not one simi-
lar in class, but one endowed with qualities suitable to his adoptive
family. The other Commentators refer this term to one equal in class
(Vurna) or caste (Jati), and this interpretation has been adopted by nearly
all Digest-writers, in conformity with the usage of their own age.