दायभागकथनम्The law of inheritance
Verse 22
धनं मृतेन पुत्रेण पौत्रं याति पितामहात् । अतोऽत्र गीयते लोकैः पुत्ररूपः स्वयं पिता ॥ २२ ॥
dhanaṁ mṛtēna putrēṇa pautraṁ yāti pitāmahāt | atō’tra gīyatē lōkaiḥ putrarūpaḥ svayaṁ pitā || 22 ||
Translation
Through the son who has died, the wealth passes from the grandfather to the grandson; that is why people say that the father himself takes the form of the son.
Word by word
- dhanaṁ
- the wealth
- mṛtēna
- through the dead
- putrēṇa
- son
- pautraṁ
- to the grandson
- yāti
- goes
- pitāmahāt
- (pitāmahāt) from the grandfather
- ataḥ
- (ataḥ) therefore
- atra
- here
- gīyatē
- it is said
- lōkaiḥ
- (lokaiḥ) by people
- putra
- of the son
- rūpaḥ
- (rūpaḥ) in the form
- svayaṁ
- himself
- pitā
- the father
Meaning
The grandson takes his dead father's place: the inheritance flows through the son as if he still lived. The saying that a father is reborn in his son is given as the ground of the rule.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
Now, stating with its reason that the father himself has the form of the son, he repeats that the grandson alone has the right to the wealth of a man who died sonless, with "dhanam" and the rest. Since through the dead son the wealth passes from the grandfather to the grandson, therefore here in the world it is sung, it is said, by people that the father himself is in the form of the son.