Monday, January 17, 2022

Hindu Personal Law - 12 Types of Children (Legal Heir) in Ancient India


In Ancient India, 12 types of children were considered to be legal heir of his/Her father. All of them need not be biological children of their legal father

1. Aurasa : Biological son through wife in a normal marriage, where son carries father’s Y-Chromosome.

2. Putrikaputra : When there is no son, girl is treated as son and her son becomes legal heir (ex : Babruvahana, born to Arjuna and Chitrangada, but became legal heir of his maternal-grandfather.)

3. Paunarbhava/ Paunarbhu : The son of a virgin widow. She after her marriage became a ‘Punarbhu’ ( married second time).

4. Kshetraja : Wife’s womb but husband is not biological father. (ex: Kunti, Madri giving birth to pandavas). This can happen even after husband’s death and still the children born will be treated as deceased father’s heir

5. Dattaka : Adopted through legal method or vedic ritual.

6. Kritima : A child is nourished and brough up as a son, but no adoption rituals performed. Child grows up and assumes you as parent.

7. Gudhaja : Wife’s secret son, without husband’s knowledge. This child also is heir of father. Only difference with Kshetraja is, husband’s approval or knowledge.

8. Apaviddha :Rejected child of some parent, but grew up with others. This child can claim property of person who nourished him,but cannot do pind-daan or death rituals to ancestors of that family (example : Karna did not or could not do pind-daan to ancestors of the adhirtha-radha)

9. Krita : He is a purchased son.

10. Swayamdatta : ‘Self Offered son’ – When an orphaned boy went to some person and offered himself to be his son and the latter accepted his offer, the boy in such a case was called Swayamdatta.

 11. Kanina : Son born to a lady before her marriage. But he becomes legal heir of his mother’s future husband. (ex : Karna would have inherited the throne of Hastinapur after the death of Pandu being his eldest son as per this law, but birth of Karna was kept secret by Kunti and she revealed the truth only after the death of Karna. )

12. Sahodha : A son is brought along with the marriage. If a woman was pregnant at the time of her marriage, the son born to her after her marriage was deemed to be the son of the man who married her, even though the biological father was a different man. Such marriages happened when husband dies during or immediately after marriage. She can re-marry a person of her choice, but a son born from that marriage belongs to the family of 1st deceased husband. She can claim rights only from 2nd kid and so on.



Out of above 12, only 3 : Aurasa, Putrikaputra, Paunarbhava were entitled for full property of father and also his family’s property (inherited from ancestors).

Out of above 12, only 3 : Aurasa, Putrikaputra, Paunarbhava were entitled for full property of father and also his family’s property (inherited from ancestors).

Other 7 : Kshetraja, Dattaka, Kritima, Gudhaja, Apaviddha, Krita, Swayamdatta were entitled to claim only what was earned by their (social) father or his part of ancestral property, but not the entire family property. However, they can carry the surname, gotra etc.



Source input: 
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