Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 413

OBLIGATION FOR MAINTENANCE
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perty of their husbands, their sons being conjointly bound
to provide for their maintenance during their lives.
Should a man, by reason of the barrenness of his first
wife, marry a second, and the latter have a son, all the
father's property belongs exclusively to this son
the first
wife, after the death of the common husband, can claim
nothing from the estate but the son is bound to provide
for her maintenance in a decent manner, and to meet all
If the first wife does not
the expenses of her funeral.
choose to continue to live with the second, the relatives
meet together and arrange for the allotment to her of
a sufficient income according to her condition in life.
certain man, rinding that his first wife was barren,
married a second, then a third but it so happened that
these two, like the first, were barren also, and the man,
The deceased had an elder
therefore, died without issue.
and a younger brother, besides several cousins, sons of his
paternal uncles. None of these, however, had been living
with him. They had long before divided their family
property, and each was living separately.
The question
arises, Who ought to be regarded as the rightful heir of
the deceased ?
The answer given is, that the rightful heir
is the younger brother, because, being the youngest of the
family, to him, according to the custom of the country,
belongs the right of presiding at the obsequies a right
which carries with it the heirship. He thereby becomes
the head of the family and the master of the house. It is
he, therefore, who is obliged to provide for the maintenance
of the three widows left by his brother.
Should any one
of the three choose to return to her father's house, she