Page:History of India Vol 1.djvu/278

228. The law of primogeniture never obtained in India, but so long as the joint family system remained in vogue, the property of the father was inherited by the eldest son, who supported the rest as a father. It would seem, however, that to live in a joint family under the eldest brother was never the universal custom in India, and even Gautama, the earliest of the Sutrakaras whose works are extant, considers a partition among brothers preferable. According to Gautama, the eldest son got as an additional share a twentieth part of the estate, some animals, and a carriage; the middlemost son received some poor animals, and the youngest obtained sheep, grain, utensils, a house, a cart, and some animals; while the remaining property was divided equally. As an alternative, he allowed the eldest two shares, and the remaining sons one share each; or he would permit each to take one kind of property by choice, according to seniority; or the special shares might be adjusted according to their mothers.

Vasishtha permitted the eldest brother to take a double share and a little of the kine and horses; he allowed the youngest to take the goats, sheep, and house; while the middlemost received utensils and furniture. If a Brahman had sons by Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaisya wives, the first obtained three shares, the second two, and the third one.

Baudhayana allowed all the children to receive equal shares, or the eldest son might take one-tenth more than his brothers. Where there were sons born of wives of different castes, the sons were to receive four, three,