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Shastram vs. Sampradayam

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Shastram or Sampradaayam is often quoted only when it suits us. In other words, it is "life of convenience" in today's world.

Would we skip a job interview because it falls on raghu kaala?
Would we do "maadhyaanikam" wherever we are at noon?
Can we enter through the back door after attending a funeral when there is no back door in today's flats?

So, it is life of convenience.
 
In every aspectof our life we see Theory and Practice. Theory stands as it is AND PRACTICE CHANGES ACCORDING TO THE CHANGE IN STANDARDS OF LIFE IN SOCIETY. wHILE THEORY WAS CORRECT AND IMPLKEMENTABLE AS ONOLD DAYS in practice it is not possible now a days. Now there is conflict only because the elderes in the age of above 60 ( there are exceptions) still could not adjust with the changes. IN a matter of 10 to 15 years the new generation will be leading and I am sure new changes will be accepted without any question. No body now a days will insist for ledger/manual entry in Banking. When the convenience of internet came people are adopting and forgetting the days of queing from early night for tickets. Since our women folk are also now educated /employed they are also contributing by accepting the situations as it is . I am for the changes .A person getting up in early 4 amand doing sandhyavandana will not find it practical when he goes to colder area countries. Either sandhyavandanam is done mentally or ot done. only problem because of this transit ,I think , is unwanted guilty consiciousness to some
 
I too agree with Mr. kr subramanian, as long as we are clearly conscious of what we discard and what we hold on to. I think 'change' is a continuous flux and any one who lived / living / will be living had / is / has to face this fact. Only thing required is that whatever we decide to do, we should be conscious of what we are in far. If we hold on to some thing against certain odds, we must realize it well enough, so that we neither fall into the trap of self-pity when we miss out on some thing, nor we develop conceitedness for being able to do something which someone else is not able to / willing to do. In the same way, if we choose to break from an old custom and adobt a new one to "suit more to the times", there too, we must develop the ability to stand against self-pity for missing on some thing or feeling overly proud for doing some thing which another person chooses not to.

In a gist, if every one can evolve of his own volition, without another 'poking his nose' into the affairs of others, many quarrels, heartburns, sufferings etc. can be averted. A workable balance has to be struck between individual freedom and societal obligation. It is a tricky proposition, no doubt, but not impossible outright, I feel.
 
Sastram, is aset of laid down rules at some ancient time. As Kanchi Paramacharyal had said, when in doubt about the meaning or interpretation of the Sastras, we are asked to follow the sampradayam, as followed by the elders of the family. There is enough scope given in the sampradayam, to modify according to the convenience of Desa, Kala and Varthamana. As mentioned by some of the contributors, Kudumi is more or less gone (except in the ultranew generation as a style) but Daily Shaving has become a Nithyakarmanushtanam. Sandhyavandanam is gone but urge to learn and practice Yoga on a large scale is the in- thing. Aspiration to learn more about the Vedas, Sastras etc with their meaning and significance is more now than in the previous generation. In other words, rituals are disappearing but attempts to understand their significance is increasing. The cycle will repeat because CHENGE is the only permanent thing.
Regards,
Ramanathan.
 
This thread is the most useful one I came come across ever since I joined the forum. The initiator of this thread deserves our compliment.

Sri.tbs, Sri.Sangom, and Dr.Ramanathan have made valid observations.

There is also something called "desa-achara". Can someone throw some light on that?

Also, if someone has any knowledge about "Mitakshara", can they please share?

The Kanchi Archarya has spoken about "Vaidyanatha Dikshatiyam", perhaps the latest smriti to be composed in the southern region. All in all, the smritis of latter times are just variants of Manu smriti, to suit the needs of the times -- just my educated guess.

Rgds.
 
This thread is the most useful one I came come across ever since I joined the forum. The initiator of this thread deserves our compliment.

Sri.tbs, Sri.Sangom, and Dr.Ramanathan have made valid observations.


There is also something called "desa-achara". Can someone throw some light on that?


Also, if someone has any knowledge about "Mitakshara", can they please share?


The Kanchi Archarya has spoken about "Vaidyanatha Dikshatiyam", perhaps the latest smriti to be composed in the southern region. All in all, the smritis of latter times are just variants of Manu smriti, to suit the needs of the times -- just my educated guess.


Rgds.


Desa aacaaram comes into play when people/families migrate -seeking livelihood - even today. As an example I may say that in 1960's it was not possible to get many of the south indian vegetables in Kanpur. So people performing sraaddhams there followed the aacaarams of the local people; whatever they took for sraaddham our people also accepted, except that instead of the north indian type meals (puri.chapati. curries, etc.,) our people prepared rice and possible items.


Mitakshara is one of the two important laws of inheritance in hinduism, the other one being daayaabhaaga.


The
Mitākṣarā (click this name for details) is a vivṛti (legal commentary) on the Yajnavalkya Smriti best known for its theory of "inheritance by birth." It was written by Vijñāneśvara, a scholar in the Western Chalukya court in the late eleventh and early twelfth century. Along with the Dāyabhāga, it was considered one of the main authorities on Hindu Law from the time the British began administering laws in India. The entire Mitākṣarā, along with the text of the Yājñavalkya-smṝti, is approximately 492 closely printed pages.[1]

The
Dāyabhāga (click this name for details) is a Hindu law treatise written by JīmūtavāhanaMitākṣarā, resulting in several basic contradictions between the texts.[citation needed] The Dāyabhāga was the strongest authority in Modern British Indian courts in the Bengal region of India, although this has changed due to the passage of the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 and subsequent revisions to the act.[1] Based on Jīmūtavāhana's criticisms of the Mitākṣarā, it is thought that his work is precluded by the Mitākṣarā. This has led many scholars to conclude that the MitākṣarāDāyabhāga represents the reformed version.[2]which primarily focuses on inheritance procedure.

The central difference between the texts is based upon when one becomes the owner of property. The Dāyabhāga does not give the sons a right to their father's ancestral property until after his death, unlike Mitākṣarā, which gives the sons the right to ancestral property upon their birth. The digest has been commented on more than a dozen times.[3]

Vaidyanatha Deekshiteeyam is not a new smriti but a compilation of several smritis put in a certain order and mostly covers the topics of grihyasutras. Its name is smritimuktaaphalam.


While on this topic, I may mention that here in this forum, an opinion is often expressed that brahmins were not for amassing money, their was a life of simplicity, enquiry into the philosophical realms and making all out efforts for liberation from the cycle of births and deaths, etc. If that be true, why should such a lengthy commentary on inheritance be thought of at all by a brahmin, or, why would yajnavalkya (c.100 B.C.E.) have written anything in this respect in his smriti? I would request our members to think about these.
 
Dear Sri Sangom,

Thanks for your post #31.

We talk as if smritis deal only about acharas for brahmins only. Is it that they are silent on acharas for other varnas?

Were Mitakshara and Dayabhaga not applicable in Travancore and Cochin states during the British rule? This I ask because matrilineal practice was widely prevalent in Kerala amongst the Nairs.

Regards,
 
Today, Feb. 10 happens to be ratha-saptami (symbolically the sun's chariot turning north wards) and tomorrow Bhisma-ashtami. Uttarayana has supposed to have started from makra-sakaranti (sun's transit into makara rasi). Then what does ratha-saptami denote? How does it square with winter solstice that falls on Dec.21?

Bhisma had waited for Uttarayana to begin for giving up his body. Is is that the thithi was ashtami on the day of makara-sankrati (the year in which he passed away)?

Rgds.,
 
Today, Feb. 10 happens to be ratha-saptami (symbolically the sun's chariot turning north wards) and tomorrow Bhisma-ashtami. Uttarayana has supposed to have started from makra-sakaranti (sun's transit into makara rasi). Then what does ratha-saptami denote? How does it square with winter solstice that falls on Dec.21?

Bhisma had waited for Uttarayana to begin for giving up his body. Is is that the thithi was ashtami on the day of makara-sankrati (the year in which he passed away)?

Rgds.,

Due to the precession of the equinoxes, the point in which samkramas take place go on moving backwards w.r.to the course of the sun annually along the star-studded background. So, it is possible that Bheeshma ended his sojourn on a day when ashtami and uttarayana were there; it could be the day next to the one when sun moved into uttarayana. But this alone will not enable us to guess the time of the occurrence unless we are sure of the position of the sun or the moon in the ecliptic.

Since the nirayana uttarayana is around 15th. Jan, the next shukla saptami falls today; probably Bheeshma would have left his body on Shukla Saptami because death in Krishna Paksha is considered inauspicious and calls for praayaschitta to be done by the karta during funeral rites.
 
Dear Sri Sangom,

Thanks for your post #31.

We talk as if smritis deal only about acharas for brahmins only. Is it that they are silent on acharas for other varnas?

Were Mitakshara and Dayabhaga not applicable in Travancore and Cochin states during the British rule? This I ask because matrilineal practice was widely prevalent in Kerala amongst the Nairs.

Regards,

The smritis lay down the acaaraas for other castes as well. You would have observed, from another post wherein I gave extracts of translations from MDS, as to how it states about the age for upanayanam, the length and material for the staff (daNDam), clothes to be worn, material for mounjee, upaveetam, etc., etc. If any brahmin cares to even read the available translations, one will readily see the hauteur with which the brahmin is depicted in all these dharmasastras and then it will be easier to understand why brahmins cannot escape the blame for caste system and caste atrocities, at least as one conniving at the crime.

Apart from mitaakshara and daayaabhaaga, there is another recognised (by the british courts) law of inheritance for hindu undivided families, called "aLiya sampradaaya" or 'marumakkattaayam'; aLiyan in Malayalam means wife's brother and also sister's husband (both) and this refers to matrilineal succession, or marumakkaL taayam (taayam=turn). But this is not supported by any of the aryan "srutis".
 
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Sastram and Sampradayam

I would like to supplement the excellent postings of Mr.Sangom and others on a few points.
Mitakshara: In addition to the details found in the Wikipedia, there is an excellent address delivered by Justice Markandey Katju, on 31.12.2004, in Gulbarga University available in the internet, titled," The importance of Mitakshara in the 21st century."
Yagnavalkya Sutra consists of three chapters:
1.Achara,deals with Religion;
2.Vyavahara, deals with law and,
3.Prayaschitta, deals with repentence and penance.
Mitakshara is a commentary written on the legal aspects and is widely quoted and referred to because it has been largely taken into consideration while drafting the Hindu Code bill. It is largely appreciated for its secular nature but is also quite biased against women, which has been rectified in stages in the Hindu code bill.
It is said that Mitakshara and Dayabhaga differ on the interpretation of one word only, namely "Sapinda", whether it means the ritual oblations at the time of obsequies ceremony and in sraddhas or something more. The word Pinda is used not only in oblations but also elsewhere. For eg, in Vaishnodevi temple, the Murthas are called Pindas and also in several other temples. Perhaps,a reference to thesetemple priests and other elders may elicit a more meaningful interpretation.
A digest of the Hindu Law of inheritance etc digitised bythe internet archive also brings out elaborately on the interpretation by various authorities of the various Sutras, Smrities and other later scriptures.
Rathasapthami: The usual explanations we have, do not fit into the modern knowledge of Uttarayan and Dakshinayan.
Prabably, it referred to the heralding of Spring time.
Bhishma died on the Ekadasi day after the Amavasya of Dhanur masa and this is widely celebrated as Bhishma Ekadasi. In many parts of India, according to the lunar calander, the new month commences after the Amavasya and so is Magha masa after the the Amavasya of Dhanur masa.It was then considered as Uttarayan, though Uttarayan is actually observed as per Solar calander only all over India.As far as I know, Rathasapthami has nothing to do with Bhishma's death.
Regards,
Ramanathan.
 
To All,
I remember on Rathasapthami day ,my mother used to ask me to bring 'YERUKA ILAI' and "ARUGAMPIL'.Gents used to keep two or three ilais with a little arugampil and 'Achatai' on the head and take bath.Ladies used to keep in addition turmeric also.
We followed this custom for a few years after mother's demise and left the custom.I was not knowing the significance of doing such a thing.
 
Sangom sir,

I heard this from some elderly ladies. Just curious if this was also mentioned by yagnavalkya or apasthamba ? Am aware that manusmrithi mentions inheritance laws in the similar stance below. But is it only manu or do all other dharmashastras follow the same? I have only read manu, boudhayana, apasthamba and vasishta so far and am not aware of yagnavalkya's or other writers' utterances wrt to this. Also was there only one yagnavalkya or were there more than one person with such a name?

Am told that men in the past used to have a free hand with women farm labour. Some men also used to have concubines, rather to say chinna veedus but without marriage. The women used to have children also, who in telugu were called avarasa putralu (meaning an illegitimate child). The avarasas had no right to property. But it was incumbent on the legal heirs (waris or warises born to dharmapatni or dharmapatnis ) to pay the avarasas an amount periodically as maintenance. I heard this system used to be followed until abt 80 years ago. The ownership of property hence was considered extremely important as it signified not only wealth, but it also signified social position as a legal heir. The first male child of a dharmapatni almost always got the lion's share while the rest of the warises had to be content with a lesser share. Women had no right to own property / land. But she used to be given a dowry which was her share of inheritance.

Sir, would you know if this custom of paying maintenance to avarasas is mentioned in any commentaries / shastras apart from the dharmashastras? Am curious if specifically any work of apasthamba mentions such inheritance laws ??

Regards.

Sangom Sir,

Made a correction in this post -- Avarasa (illegitimate) appears to be the opposite of Aurasa (legitimate). Both do not mean the same. Apologies.

Regards.
 
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While on this topic, I may mention that here in this forum, an opinion is often expressed that brahmins were not for amassing money, their was a life of simplicity, enquiry into the philosophical realms and making all out efforts for liberation from the cycle of births and deaths, etc. If that be true, why should such a lengthy commentary on inheritance be thought of at all by a brahmin, or, why would yajnavalkya (c.100 B.C.E.) have written anything in this respect in his smriti? I would request our members to think about these.

Normally I don't intently listen to the pravachanakartas talking about the greatness of bhakti vis-a-vis knowledge. Yeseday, by happenstance something about Yagnavalkya by one such person on TV fell on my ears and hence they got tuned.

He was to say that Yagnavalkya was rewarded with riches by King Janaka on the completion of Brahma Sadas. He went back home and told his two wives Kathyayani and Maitreyi about that and declared that as he has decided to take up sanyassa, he had to distribute his riches/properties accordingly between his two wives.(it was mentioned whether the two wives had issues).

Maitreyi was not interested in the riches and wanted her husband to show the path of Brahma-Vidya and told that all the property can be given to the other wife Kathyayani.

Whether it true or apocryphal is something I do not know.

It is plausible that the event predicated Yagnavalya to come up with/codify laws relating to inheritance.

Rgds.,
 
Dear Dr. Ramanathan,

I have a query regarding:
1) the division of inherited property
2) and that on self-earned income.
3) stri-dana
4) provision for performance of sraddha (by those without issues) on
any nominated kartha.

Say a father Atma Ram, has inherited a property which will be bequeathed to his hiers according to the formula prescribed in the Hindu Succession Act (inclusive that for his daughters).
Atma Ram has also brought properties (B)from his self-earned income (other than revenue from his inherited property). He wills to give away that property (B)from his own earnings to either charity or someone else.

One of his sons, say Bhola Ram raises a dispute saying that there is no proof that his father has acquired properties (B) solely with his self-earned income.
How are courts to decide in such a case?

Stri-dana

I have seen in a family in which brothers have scrupulously passed on the property to their sister that their mother had as stri-dana . Is there any law governing the inheritance of stri-dana (normally by the way of dowry)?

What are the underpinnings that govern the laws of Hindu inheritance?

4) I have seen that old people without issues making provision for funeral and other rituals to follow. Does the law deal with this issue?

With regards,
Swami
 
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Sastram and Sampradayam

I regret I am not a lawyer to answer the specific queries of Sr. Tabra. But, I believe The Hindu Code Bill has an answer to almost every query concerning the Hindu religious practices and, where there is lack of clarity, the courts deal with them. In my previous posting I had merely tried to place Mitakshra interpretation in the correct perspective and as to how it had been used in modern law making.
Regards,
Ramanathan.
 
Dear Sri. Swamitabra,
The entire Brihadaranya Upanishad, which is the biggest of the upanishads available, is based on this conversation between Yagnavalkya, Maithreyi and Kathyayani and their questions and answers.
Regards,
Ramanathan.
 
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]VASTU - Manaiyadi Shastra[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The term "manai",a tamil word ,refers to house."shastra" refers to a discipline of study .Thus manaiyadishastram refers to the discipline which analysis the impact experienced by the residents of the house for the various dimensions (length and breath) while residing in the house. Manaiyadi shastram is applicable to each and every room in the house.Therefore care should be taken while fixing the length and breadth of every single room because this might adversely affect the person who is living in that room.The good and bad effects of fixing a particular dimension for rooms in the house are given below in a table.Readers are advised to go through this table and build their houses in their own interest. [/SIZE][/FONT]
 
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]EET[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]EFFECTS/CONSEQUENCES[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]6[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will lead a peaceful life.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]7[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will lose all his wealth.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]8[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will be blessed with great wealth and will enjoy all pleasures.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]9[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will not only lose all his wealth but will also face insurmountable difficulties.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]10[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident can be assured of atleast a square meal a day.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]11[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will enjoy overall health and wealth.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]12[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will lose his child.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]13[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will suffer from incurable diseases.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]14[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Peace of mind will be lost.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]15[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]A death will occur in the resident's family.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]16[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will attain great wealth.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]17[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will defeat his enemies.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]18[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The house will get destroyed soon.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]19[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will experience poverty.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]20[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The resident will lead a happy life.[/SIZE][/FONT]
 
it depends on which part the individual room was located
like north west east south
 
Dear Dr. Ramanathan,

I have a query regarding:
1) the division of inherited property
2) and that on self-earned income.
3) stri-dana
4) provision for performance of sraddha (by those without issues) on
any nominated kartha.

Say a father Atma Ram, has inherited a property which will be bequeathed to his hiers according to the formula prescribed in the Hindu Succession Act (inclusive that for his daughters).
Atma Ram has also brought properties (B)from his self-earned income (other than revenue from his inherited property). He wills to give away that property (B)from his own earnings to either charity or someone else.

One of his sons, say Bhola Ram raises a dispute saying that there is no proof that his father has acquired properties (B) solely with his self-earned income.
How are courts to decide in such a case?

Dear Shri Swami,

I felt Dr. Ramanathan may be knowing the legal position but in view of his post now, I am trying to tell what little I learnt during my experience as a bank officer:

Bholaram will win his case if the court is satisfied that Atmaram could not have acquired/purchased the said "self-earned" property/properties solely out of his own independent income/s without utilising any portion of the income from the inherited properties. If for example, Atmaram sells some of the inherited property and uses that money to purchase the self-earned property, leaving clear evidence for such utilization, the case will go mostly against Atmaram, even if he proves that his independent income was substantial at the material period (usually, here the IT angle will go against Atmaram due to underreporting!) and this was only a convenient arrangement and all that.

Stri-dana

I have seen in a family in which brothers have scrupulously passed on the property to their sister that their mother had as stri-dana . Is there any law governing the inheritance of stri-dana (normally by the way of dowry)?
There is a system of "manjakkaani" among some hindus. The manjakkaani is out of reach of male offsprings and only the daughters are entitled to it. But if a woman with manjakkaani assets has only sons, I think it is (not very sure, but) the practice to give it to the dils so that subsequently it follows the female route.

What are the underpinnings that govern the laws of Hindu inheritance?
In the sense of supporting authority, it is both mitakshara, daayaabhaaga and perhaps subsequent judgments.

4) I have seen that old people without issues making provision for funeral and other rituals to follow. Does the law deal with this issue?

With regards,
Swami
If such provisions are made in the form of a duly registered will or an endowment, it has legal validity. If it is only an oral expression of their desire, its implementation depends on the honesty of the person who is given the resposibility of doing their funeral and karmas. But in the absence of issues, usually nobody will bother to question in a court of law, even the documentary ones, if they are unimplemented.
 
Dear Sir,

I profusely thank you for your illuminating reply.

Bholaram will win his case if the court is satisfied that Atmaram could not have acquired/purchased the said "self-earned" property/properties solely out of his own independent income/s without utilising any portion of the income from the inherited properties. If for example, Atmaram sells some of the inherited property and uses that money to purchase the self-earned property, leaving clear evidence for such utilization, the case will go mostly against Atmaram, even if he proves that his independent income was substantial at the material period (usually, here the IT angle will go against Atmaram due to underreporting!) and this was only a convenient arrangement and all that.

Satisfying courts is the biggest challenge for the plaintiff, I sense. Usually in our jurisprudence, the onus is on the plaintiff, correct me if I am wrong. When the monies (inherited and self-earned) get mixed up, it is a fertile ground for legal dispute. Assuming that Atma Ram has complied with all IT formalities, how the two streams of income to be distinguished and the saving thereof computed?
Usually when the stakes are high, people go to courts; but people of earlier generations, -- in particular-- have fought over piffling too. This has helped many a lawyer make a livelihood, by specialising in civil suits.

Any idea on the M.P. Birla- Priyamvada's will?
There is a system of "manjakkaani" among some hindus. The manjakkaani is out of reach of male offsprings and only the daughters are entitled to it. But if a woman with manjakkaani assets has only sons, I think it is (not very sure, but) the practice to give it to the dils so that subsequently it follows the female route
I have heard that as dowry, stri-dana practice was widely prevalent, daughters were not given equal share in the inherited property of the father. Can you please share your knowledge on that?
By the way, though not quite germane to Hindu law, on what grounds the court awarded the share of father's property to Mary Roy (now better known as Arundhati Roy's mother)?


If such provisions are made in the form of a duly registered will or an endowment, it has legal validity. If it is only an oral expression of their desire, its implementation depends on the honesty of the person who is given the resposibility of doing their funeral and karmas. But in the absence of issues, usually nobody will bother to question in a court of law, even the documentary ones, if they are unimplemented.
What if the person makes an executor for the will?

Sorry for troubling you,

With regards,
Swami
 
Dear Sir,

I profusely thank you for your illuminating reply.



Satisfying courts is the biggest challenge for the plaintiff, I sense. Usually in our jurisprudence, the onus is on the plaintiff, correct me if I am wrong.

Dear Shri Swami,

Yes, it is for the plaintiff to prove his stand - except rape/molestation and some such other crimes.

When the monies (inherited and self-earned) get mixed up, it is a fertile ground for legal dispute. Assuming that Atma Ram has complied with all IT formalities, how the two streams of income to be distinguished and the saving thereof computed?
Usually when the stakes are high, people go to courts; but people of earlier generations, -- in particular-- have fought over piffling too. This has helped many a lawyer make a livelihood, by specialising in civil suits.
I would like to slightly amend your statement; it was not the piffling cases which made most tabras attracted to the legal profession and make themselves rich, it was the zamindars and the local rulers who provided the manna for the mostly tabra lawyers. So much so, one of the more enlightened native rulers even published a book calling them to avoid costly lawsuits thus enriching the lawyers!!

Any idea on the M.P. Birla- Priyamvada's will?
No, I am not following the developments, pl.

I have heard that as dowry, stri-dana practice was widely prevalent, daughters were not given equal share in the inherited property of the father. Can you please share your knowledge on that?
By the way, though not quite germane to Hindu law, on what grounds the court awarded the share of father's property to Mary Roy (now better known as Arundhati Roy's mother)?
The daughters did not have any right to inheritance till the Hindu Succession Act of 1956. In tabra community since most people were below or just at subsistence levels in those days, this question was hardlt relevant; the daughters used to be married off with some dowry payment, the father would die leaving a large debt burden on the unfortunate son/sons, the younger sons would nicely escape the repayment because the unwritten rule was that the eldest son is responsible for repayment of the parental debt (just as for funeral rites)! But in tabra households with substantial assets, the daughters and sons-in-law ensured that they got their share - may not be exactly by way of the properties - but by way of ornaments, cash, jewellery, including diamond necklaces/nose rings, ear rings even for the grand daughters.

After the 1956 legislation the daughters got their right to inherit but it was not utilised much in courts because, by and large, the old practices were followed. Perhaps still it may be so.

The 2005 amendment gives equal rights for sons and daughters, but I am not aware of any major disputes taken to courts as per this amendment.

Mary Roy got a small share of her father's property as dowry, as was the custom among syrian christians of kerala, but after her father's death, she filed a case for equal rights as her brothers and won her case. The point which is not clear is whether the SC took into account the dowry property in deciding her share, whether dowry was legal for the christians at the time of her marriage, etc. Unless we have the full judgment copy, we won't know such details.
What if the person makes an executor for the will?

Sorry for troubling you,

With regards,
Swami
The executor's responsibility cannot obviously be everlasting; in the case of normal wills his responsibility is over once he identifies the inheritors stated therein, hands over the will or its certified copies to them and, if the will specifies so, ensuring distribution of the shares as prescribed. So, while the executor may be able to ensure the funeral and immediate rights, he will not be able to ensure annual sraaddhas and all.
 
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