1 I will now propound the eternal laws for a husband and his wife who keep to the path of duty, whether they be united or separated.

2 Day and night, men and women of a family must watch over one another's conduct, and if any of them attach themselves to sensual enjoyments, they must be kept under control.

3 Her father protects her in childhood, her husband protects her in youth, and her sons protect her in old age; a woman is always to be honoured and cared for.

4 Reprehensible is the father who gives not his daughter in marriage at the proper time; reprehensible is the husband who approaches not his wife in due season, and reprehensible is the son who does not protect his mother after her husband has died.

5 Men and women alike must be guarded against evil inclinations, however trifling they may appear; for, if they are not guarded, they will bring sorrow on two families.

6 Considering that this is the highest duty of all, even weak husbands must strive to guard their wives.

7 He who carefully guards his wife, preserves the purity of his offspring, virtuous conduct, his family, himself, and his means of acquiring merit.

9 As the father is to whom a wife cleaves, even so is the son whom she brings forth; let him therefore carefully guard his wife, in order to keep his offspring pure.

10 No man can completely guard women by force; but they can be guarded by the employment of the following expedients:

11 Let the husband employ his wife in the collection and expenditure of his wealth, in keeping everything clean, in the fulfilment of religious duties, in the preparation of his food, and in looking after the household utensils.

12 Women confined in the house under trustworthy and obedient servants are not well guarded; but those who of their own accord keep guard over themselves, are well guarded.

13 Drinking spirituous liquor, associating with wicked people, separation from the husband, rambling abroad, sleeping at unseasonable hours, and dwelling in other men's houses, are the six causes of the ruin of women.

22 Whatever be the qualities of the man with whom a woman is united according to the law, such qualities even she assumes, like a river united with the ocean.

25 Thus has been declared the ever pure popular usage which regulates the relations between husband and wife; hear next the laws concerning children, which are a cause of happiness in this world and in the hereafter.

26 Between wives who bear children, who secure many blessings, who are worthy of honour and who irradiate their dwellings, and the blessings of fortune which reside in the houses of men, there is no difference whatsoever.

27 The production of children, the nurture of those born, and the daily life of men, of these matters woman is visibly the cause.

28 Offspring, the due performance of religious duties, faithful service, highest conjugal happiness and the Garden for oneself, depend on one's wife.

29 She who, controlling her thoughts, speech, and acts, violates not her duty towards her husband, shall dwell with him in the Garden, and in this world is called by the virtuous a faithful wife.

30 But for disloyalty to her husband a wife is censured among men, and in the hereafter she is tormented by the punishment of her sin.

31 Listen now to the following holy discussion, salutary to all men, which the virtuous of the present day and the ancient great sages have held concerning male offspring.

32 They all say that the male issue of a woman belongs to the lord, but with respect to the meaning of the term lord the revealed texts differ; some call the begetter of the child the lord, others declare that it is the owner of the soil.

33 By the sacred tradition the woman is declared to be the soil, the man is declared to be the seed; the production of all corporeal beings takes place through the union of the soil with the seed.

34 In some cases the seed is more distinguished, and in some the womb of the female; but when both are equal, the offspring is most highly esteemed.

35 On comparing the seed and the receptacle of the seed, the seed is declared to be more important; for the offspring of all created beings is marked by the characteristics of the seed.

36 Whatever kind of seed is sown in a field, prepared in due season, a plant of that same kind, marked with the peculiar qualities of the seed, springs up in it.

37 This earth, indeed, is called the primeval womb of created beings; but the seed develops not in its development any properties of the womb.

38 In this world seeds of different kinds, sown at the proper time in the land, even in one field, come forth each according to its kind.

39 The rice called vrihi and that called sali, mudga-beans, sesamum, masha-beans, barley, leeks, and sugar-cane, all spring up according to their seed.

40 That one plant should be sown and another be produced cannot happen; whatever seed is sown, a plant of that kind even comes forth.

41 Never therefore must a prudent, well-trained man, who knows the scripture and desires long life, cohabit with another's wife.

42 With respect to this matter, those acquainted with the past recite some stanzas, to show that seed must not be sown by any man on that which belongs to another.

43 As the arrow, shot by a hunter who afterwards hits a wounded deer in the wound made by another, is shot in vain, even so the seed, sown on what belongs to another, is quickly lost to the sower.

44 Those who know the past declare a field to belong to him who cleared away the timber, and a deer to him who first wounded it.

45 He only is a perfect man who consists of three persons united, his wife, himself, and his offspring; thus say the learned, and they propound this maxim likewise, "The husband is declared to be one with the wife."

46 Neither by sale nor by repudiation is a wife released from her husband; such we know the law to be, which God decreed of old.

47 Once is the partition of the inheritance made, once is a maiden given in marriage, and once does a man say, "I will give;" each of those three acts is done once only.

48 As with cows, mares, female camels, buffalo-cows, she-goats, and ewes, it is not the begetter or his owner who obtains the offspring; but no man acquires any right over the wife of another.

49 Those who, having no property in a field, but possessing seed-corn, sow it in another's soil, do indeed not receive the grain of the crop which may spring up.

50 If one man's bull were to beget a hundred calves on another man's cows, they would belong to the owner of the cows; in vain would the bull have spent his strength.

51 Thus men who have no lawful marriage with a woman, but sow their seed in the household of another, bring harm and disgrace; but the giver of the seed reaps no advantage.

52 If no agreement with respect to the crop has been made between the owner of the field and the owner of the seed, the benefit clearly belongs to the owner of the field; the receptacle is more important than the seed.

53 But if by a special contract a field is made over to another for sowing, then the owner of the seed and the owner of the soil are both considered in this world as sharers of the crop.

54 If seed be carried by water or wind into somebody's field and germinates there, the plant sprung from that seed belongs even to the owner of the field, the owner of the seed does not receive the crop.

55 Know that such is the law concerning the offspring of cows, mares, female camels, she-goats, and ewes, as well as of females of birds and buffalo-cows.

56 Thus the comparative importance of the seed and of the womb has been declared to you.

57 The wife of an elder brother is for his younger brother as the wife of a father; but the wife of the younger is declared to be as a daughter-in-law to the elder.

58 An elder brother who approaches the wife of the younger, and a younger brother who approaches the wife of the elder, both commit a grave sin.

64 A widow must not be given to any man other than by a lawful marriage; for they who deal with her otherwise violate the eternal law.

65 In the sacred texts which refer to marriage the appointment of widows to another man is nowhere mentioned.

66 This practice, which is reprehended by the learned as fit for cattle, is said to have occurred even among men, while Vena ruled.

67 That chief of royal sages, who formerly possessed the whole world, caused a confusion among the people, his intellect being destroyed by lust.

68 Since that time the virtuous censure that man who in his folly makes a woman, whose husband died, bear children to another man.

69 If the future husband of a maiden dies after troth verbally plighted, her brother-in-law may wed her, if she consents, by a lawful marriage.

71 Let no prudent man, after giving his daughter to one man, give her again to another; for he who gives his daughter whom he had before given, incurs the guilt of speaking falsely regarding a human being.

72 Though a man may have accepted a damsel in due form, he may abandon her if she be blemished, diseased, or deflowered, and if she have been given with fraud.

73 If anybody gives away a maiden possessing blemishes without declaring them, the bridegroom may annul that contract with the evil-minded giver.

74 A man who has business abroad may depart after securing a maintenance for his wife; for a wife, even though virtuous, may be corrupted if she be distressed by want of subsistence.

75 If the husband went on a journey after providing for her, the wife shall subject herself to restraints in her daily life; but if he departed without providing for her, she may subsist by blameless manual work.

76 If the husband went abroad for some sacred duty, she must wait for him eight years, if he went to acquire learning or fame six years, if he went for pleasure three years.

77 For one year let a husband bear with a wife who hates him; but after the lapse of a year let him deprive her of her property and cease to cohabit with her.

78 She who shows disrespect to a husband who is addicted to some evil passion, is a drunkard, or diseased, shall be deserted for three months and be deprived of her ornaments and furniture.

79 But she who shows aversion towards a mad or sinful husband, a eunuch, one destitute of manly strength, or one afflicted with such diseases as punish crimes, shall neither be cast off nor be deprived of her property.

80 She who drinks spirituous liquor, is of bad conduct, rebellious, diseased, mischievous, or wasteful, may at any time be superseded by another wife.

81 A barren wife may be superseded in the eighth year, she whose children all die in the tenth, but she who is quarrelsome without delay.

82 But a sick wife who is kind to her husband and virtuous in her conduct, may be superseded only with her own consent and must never be disgraced.

84 But she who, though having been forbidden, drinks spirituous liquor even at festivals, or goes to public spectacles or assemblies, shall be fined six krishnalas.

88 To a distinguished, handsome suitor of equal worth should a father give his daughter in accordance with the prescribed rule, when she has attained the proper age.

89 But the maiden, though marriageable, should rather stop in her father's house until death, than that he should ever give her to a man destitute of good qualities.

90 Three years let a damsel wait, though she be marriageable; but after that time let her choose for herself a bridegroom of equal worth.

91 If, being not given in marriage, she herself seeks a husband, she incurs no guilt, nor does he whom she weds.

92 A maiden who chooses for herself shall not take with her any ornaments given by her father or her mother, or her brothers; if she carries them away, it will be theft.

93 But he who takes to wife a marriageable damsel, shall not pay any nuptial fee to her father; for the latter will lose his dominion over her in consequence of his preventing the legitimate result of the appearance of her menses.

95 The husband receives his wife from God, he does not wed her according to his own will; doing what is agreeable to God, he must always support her while she is faithful.

96 To be mothers were women created, and to be fathers men; religious duties, therefore, are ordained in the scripture to be performed by the husband together with the wife.

97 If, after the nuptial fee has been paid for a maiden, the giver of the fee dies, she shall be given in marriage to his brother, in case she consents.

98 No man, of whatever station, ought to take a nuptial fee when he gives away his daughter; for he who takes a fee sells his daughter, covering the transaction by another name.

99 Neither ancients nor moderns who were good men have done such a deed that, after promising a daughter to one man, they gave her to another;

100 Nor, indeed, have we heard, even in former ages, of such a thing as the covert sale of a daughter for a fixed price, called a nuptial fee.

101 "Let mutual fidelity continue until death," this may be considered as the summary of the highest law for husband and wife.

102 Let man and woman, united in marriage, constantly exert themselves, that they may not be disunited and may not violate their mutual fidelity.

103 Thus has been declared to you the law for a husband and his wife, which is intimately connected with conjugal happiness, and the manner of raising offspring in times of calamity; learn now the law concerning the division of the inheritance.

104 After the death of the father and of the mother, the brothers, being assembled, may divide among themselves in equal shares the paternal and the maternal estate; for they have no power over it while the parents live.

108 As a father supports his sons, so let the eldest support his younger brothers, and let them also in accordance with the law behave towards their eldest brother as sons behave towards their father.

109 The eldest son makes the family prosperous or, on the contrary, brings it to ruin; the eldest is considered among men most worthy of honour, the eldest is not treated with disrespect by the virtuous.

110 If the eldest brother behaves as an eldest brother ought to do, he must be treated like a mother and like a father; but if he behaves in a manner unworthy of an eldest brother, he should yet be honoured like a kinsman.

111 Either let them thus live together, or apart, if each so desires; for by living separately each is free to manage his own affairs, hence separation is lawful.

118 But to the maiden sisters the brothers shall severally give portions out of their shares, the due portion ordained for them; those who refuse to give it will become sinners.

127 He who has no son may make his daughter his heir, saying to her husband, "The child born of her shall succeed to my estate."

130 A son is even as oneself, such a daughter is equal to a son; how can another heir take the estate, while such a daughter, who is even oneself, lives?

131 But whatever may be the separate property of the mother, that is the share of the unmarried daughter alone; and the son of a daughter shall take the whole estate of his maternal grandfather who leaves no son.

132 The son of a daughter, indeed, shall also take the estate of his own father, who leaves no other son.

133 Between a son's son and the son of a daughter there is no difference, neither with respect to worldly matters nor to sacred duties; for their father and mother both sprang from the body of the same man.

134 But if, after a daughter has been made heir, a son be born to her father, the division of the inheritance must in that case be equal; for there is no right of primogeniture for a woman.

135 But if such a daughter by accident dies without leaving a son, her husband may, without hesitation, take that estate.

136 Through that son whom a daughter, either appointed or not, may bear to a husband of equal worth, her father has a grandson; he shall take the estate.

156 All the sons of one man, born of wives of equal standing, shall divide the estate equally.

185 Sons take the paternal estate; but if a man leaves no male issue, his parents and his brothers shall take his inheritance.

187 Always to that relative who is nearest to the deceased the estate shall belong; afterwards a more distant member of the family shall be the heir, then the spiritual teacher or the pupil.

188 But on failure of all heirs, scholars versed in the scripture, pure and self-controlled, shall share the estate: thus the law is not violated.

191 But if two sons, begotten by two different men, contend for the property in the hands of their mother, each shall take, to the exclusion of the other, what belonged to his own father.

192 But when the mother has died, all the uterine brothers and the uterine sisters shall equally divide the mother's estate.

193 Even to the daughters of those daughters something should be given, as is seemly, out of the estate of their maternal grandmother, on the score of affection.

194 What was given at the wedding, what was given on the bridal procession, what was given in token of love, and what was received from her brother, mother, or father, that is called the sixfold property of a woman.

195 Such property, as well as a gift subsequent and what was given to her by her affectionate husband, shall go to her offspring, even if she dies in the lifetime of her husband.

196 It is ordained that the property of a woman married in an honourable form of marriage shall belong to her husband alone, if she dies without issue.

197 But it is prescribed that the property which may have been given to a wife in a blamable form of marriage shall go to her mother and to her father, if she dies without issue.

199 Women should never make a hoard from the property of their families which is common to many, nor from their own husbands' particular property without permission.

200 The ornaments which may have been worn by women during their husbands' lifetime, his heirs shall not divide; those who divide them become sinners.

202 It is just that a man who knows the law should give to those who are deficient in any organ of action or sensation, to the insane and to the dumb, food and raiment without stint, according to his ability; he who gives it not will become a sinner.

204 Whatever property the eldest son acquires by his own exertion after the father's death, a share of that shall belong to his younger brothers, provided they have made a due progress in learning.

205 But if all of them, being unlearned, acquire property by their labour, the division of that shall be equal, as it is not property acquired by the father; that is a settled rule.