Introduction

The Dharmaśāstras do not encourage anuloma marriages. Yet they are concerned about the inheritance of sons born of marriages in which the wife's varṇa is lower than that of her husband. To be sure, the higher the varṇa of the wife, the larger the share of the son, but all legitimate anuloma sons, including the son of a Brahmin and a Śūdra wife, are entitled to fixed shares.674 Just as sons of legally wedded wives of twice-born varṇas are, the son of a Śūdra wife is rikthabhāk: he is entitled to a share of the estate in his own right. And, since a son by a Śūdra wife is the only possible legitimate son for a Śūdra husband, he inherits the entire estate of his father.

The śāstras are less favorably disposed toward sons born out of wedlock. As a rule, illegitimate sons of twice-born fathers may be given maintenance, but they cannot claim a share in the inheritance: they are not rikthabhāk. For sons of twice-born males and Śūdra females in particular, there are a number of rules that either prescribe maintenance or say that they are not rikthabhāk; these texts are most often interpreted as referring to illegitimate sons.

First, Gautama:

Following the Vra, Colebrooke (1798: 5.169) translated anapatya as “a man who leaves no legitimate offspring.”

Second, a verse from Bṛhaspati agrees perfectly with Gautama: