o wives
have been ordained. The Kshatriya may take a third wife from the Sudra
order. Such practice prevails, it is true, but it is not sanctioned by
the scriptures. Even this should be the order, O Yudhisthira, of the
spouses of a Kshatriya. The property of a Kshatriya should, O king, be
divided into eight shares. The son of the Kshatriya wife shall take four
of such shares of the paternal property. The son of the Vaisya wife shall
take three of such shares. The remaining one or the eighth share shall be
taken by the son of the Sudra wife. The son of the Sudra wife, however,
shall take only when the father gives but not otherwise. For the Vaisya
only one wife has been ordained. A second wife is taken from the Sudra
order. The practice prevails, it is true, but it is not sanctioned by the
scriptures. If a Vaisya has two wives, one of whom is a Vaisya and the
other a Sudra, there is a difference between them in respect of status.
The wealth of a Vaisya, O chief of Bharata's race, should be divided into
five portions. I shall now speak of the sons of a Vaisya by a wife of his
own order and by one belonging to the inferior order, as also of the
manner in which, O king his wealth is to be distributed among those
children. The son born of the Vaisya wife shall take four of such shares
of his father's wealth. The fifth share, O Bharata, has been said to
belong to the son born of the Sudra wife. Such a son, however, shall take
when the father gives. He should not take anything unless the father
gives it to him. The son that is begotten on a Sudra wife by persons of
the three higher orders should always be regarded as disentitled to any
share of the sire's wealth. The Sudra should have only one wife taken
from his own order. He can under no circumstances, take any other spouse.
Even if he happens to have a century of sons by such a spouse, all of
them share equally the wealth that he may leave behind. As regards all
the orders, the children born of the spouse taken from the husband's own
order shall, it has been laid down, share equally the father's wealth.
The eldest son's share shall be greater than that of every other son, for
he shall take one share more than each of his brothers, consisting of the
best things of his father. Even this is the law of inheritance, O son of
Pritha, as declared by the Self-born himself. Amongst children all born
of the spouse taken from the husband's own order, there is another
distinction, O king