दायभागकथनम्The law of inheritance
Verse 10
बहवस्तनया यत्र सर्वे तत्र समांशिनः । ज्येष्ठे राज्याधिकारित्वं तत्तु वंशानुसारतः ॥ १० ॥
bahavastanayā yatra sarvē tatra samāṁśinaḥ | jyēṣṭhē rājyādhikāritvaṁ tattu vaṁśānusārataḥ || 10 ||
Translation
Where there are many sons, all of them share equally. The eldest's right to a kingdom follows the custom of the family.
Word by word
- bahavaḥ
- (bahavaḥ) many
- tanayāḥ
- (tanayāḥ) sons
- yatra
- where
- sarvē
- all
- tatra
- there
- sama
- equal
- aṁśinaḥ
- (aṁśinaḥ) sharers
- jyēṣṭhē
- in the eldest
- rājya
- to the kingdom
- adhikāritvaṁ
- the right
- tat
- that
- tu
- but
- vaṁśa
- the family
- anusārataḥ
- (anusārataḥ) following
Meaning
Sons share alike, not in larger and smaller parts. The commentary answers the obvious objection, that a king's eldest son usually takes the throne: that follows the custom of the line (vaṁśa). Where the family custom gives the kingdom to the eldest, the others are entitled to food and clothing; otherwise all the brothers divide the whole estate, land and all.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
But when a king who had many sons has died, do all his own sons take equal shares in the immovable and movable property, or shares less and more? To that he says "bahavaḥ" and the rest. Where a king has many sons, entitled to a share in immovable or movable property, all of them there are sharers alike (samāṁśin), take equal parts, not smaller or larger parts: that is the sense. But it is heard and seen that mostly the eldest son of a ruler alone holds the right to the kingdom; how then is it said that all there share alike? To that he says "jyeṣṭhe" and the rest. The right to the kingdom that goes to the king's eldest son is to be understood as following the custom of the family (vaṁśa). If in the family the eldest prince alone has received the kingdom, then the right to the kingdom is his alone, and the others are entitled to food and clothing (grāsācchādana). Otherwise all should divide the whole property, the land and the rest, and take it: that is the idea.