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NARADA.
48
man, carrying her riches and offspring with her, that man must pay the debt contracted by her husband, or he must abandon her.
I, 22.
* 22. He who has intercourse with the wife of a dead man who has neither wealth nor a son, shall have to pay the debt of her husband, because she is considered as his property.
* 23. Among these three, the heir of the wealth, the protector of the widow, and the son, he is liable for the debts who takes the wealth. The son is liable, on failure of a (protector of the) widow and of an heir; the protector of the widow, on failure of an heir and of a son.
*
24. Debts contracted by the husbands of the last
band's property and goes to live with another man, the latter is bound to pay the debts contracted by her first husband. His conduct is unimpeachable, likewise, if he lets her go, she taking the whole of her property with her. A.
23. This rule contains the answer to the question: Who is liable for the debts of a deceased person, whose property has been taken by his heirs, whilst his wife through poverty has acceded to another man, and whilst his son remains both penniless and deprived of the protection of his mother? The decision is as follows. Between those three, the heir of the wealth and no other is liable for the debt. Where, however, there is no heir, owing to the want of assets, there the son is liable, if there is no widow; and the widow's husband, if there is no son. The respective liability of the son and of the taker of the widow depends on the circumstances of the case. If the widow is a young and handsome woman of high origin, her second husband has to discharge the debt of her first husband, according to the maxim that she is considered as his property (see above, paragraph 22). If, however, she is kept like a handmaid and receives a mere livelihood from the man who has taken her, the son is bound to pay the debt. A. Yagñavalkya II, 51.
24. The term uttamâ 'the first,' besides its ordinary meaning, conveys a secondary meaning. It implies that when any of the seven Svairinîs and Punarbhûs happens to be specially handsome or
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