Dāyabhāga

The Dāyabhāga is a Hindu law treatise written by Jīmūtavāhana which primarily focuses on inheritance procedure. The digest is most notable for being based on Śāstric doctrines differing from those more commonly used in the Mitākṣarā, resulting in several basic contradictions between the texts. 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 Mitākṣarā represents the orthodox doctrine of Hindu law, while the Dāyabhāga represents the reformed version.[2]

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]

Contents

Translation

Henry Thomas Colebrooke

Topics covered in the digest

Sages Mentioned in the Dāyabhāga

Manu

we

Yājńavalkya

Visnu

Nārada

Bṛhaspati

Kātyāyana

Vyāsa

Central differences between the Dāyabhāga and the Mitākṣarā

Sons Inheritance

The Rights of the Widow

Ancestral Property

Personal Property

Inheritance

Succession

Dharmaratna

The other surviving parts include:

Vyavahāra-Mātrkā

Kāla-Viveka

Commentaries

Śrīnātha Ācāryacūda

Rāmabhadra Nyāylankāra

Acyutānanda Cakraviartin

Maheśvara Bhaṭṭācārya

Śrīksṛṣṇa

Raghunandana

Dating

Location

Hindu Succession Act

Notes

  1. ^ Kane, P. V., History of Dharmaśāstra, (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1975), Volume I, Part II, 703.
  2. ^ Rocher,Jimutavahana's Dāyabhāga: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal, (Oxford University Press, 2002), 23.
  3. ^ a b c d e Kane, P. V., History of Dharmaśāstra, (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1975), Volume I, Part II, 704.
  4. ^ Rocher,Jimutavahana's Dāyabhāga: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal, (Oxford University Press, 2002), 33.
  5. ^ Rocher,Jimutavahana's Dāyabhāga: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal, (Oxford University Press, 2002), 35.
  6. ^ a b Robert Lingat, The Classical Law of India, (New York: Oxford UP, 1973), 172.
  7. ^ Robert Lingat, The Classical Law of India, (New York: Oxford UP, 1973), 173.
  8. ^ Rocher,Jimutavahana's Dāyabhāga: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal, (Oxford University Press, 2002), 9.
  9. ^ Kāne, P. V., History of Dharmaśāstra, (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1975), Volume I, Part II, 711.
  10. ^ Rocher,Jimutavahana's Dāyabhāga: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal, (Oxford University Press, 2002), 17.
  11. ^ Rocher, Jimutavahana's Dāyabhāga: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal, (Oxford University Press, 2002), 17.
  12. ^ Rocher,Jimutavahana's Dāyabhāga: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal, (Oxford University Press, 2002), 16.
  13. ^ Kāne, P. V., History of Dharmaśāstra, (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1975), Volume I, Part II, 892.
  14. ^ M. Chakravarti, Part I. Bengal, (J.A.S.B., 1915) 321-327
  15. ^ Kane, P. V., History of Dharmaśāstra, (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1975), Volume I, Part II, 712.

References