Hinduism - What Is Mitakshara?


Vijnaneshvara's voluminous commentary on the Yajnavalkya Smrti, written early in the twelfth century.

The British colonial administration of India benefited greatly from this commentary.

The British were happy to have their Indian subjects governed by their traditional religious laws, but they needed to know what these laws were in order to do so.

The Mitakshara was given the status of traditional law in large parts of British India, and it served as a legal code.

Bengal, where the Dayabhaga was the legal authority, was the only major part of India where the Mitakshara did not hold sway.

Inheritance was one of the most significant differences between the two.

The Mitakshara emphasizes survival inheritance, in which only living males can inherit property, whereas the Dayabhaga emphasizes succession inheritance, in which a deceased man's heirs can inherit in his name.


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