Sources and Schools of Hindu Law - Family Law

There are two main schools of Hindu Law, the Mitakshara and the Dayabhaga. The Mitakshara

(literally meaning “a concise work”) is a running commentary on the code of Yajnavalkya. It has

been written by Vijnaneshwar (11th century) and prevails in all parts of India, except in Bengal.

The Dayabhaga School, which is followed mainly in Bengal, is not a commentary on any particular

code, but is a digest of all the codes. It has been written by Jimutavahana, 12th century. It may

also be noted that the Mitakshara is the orthodox school, whereas the Dayabhaga (or the Bengal

school, as it is sometimes called) is the reformist school of Hindu Law. The Dayabhaga School is

considered to be a dissident school of the old Benares School.

The Dayabhaga is not divided into any sub-schools. However, the Mitakshara is sub-divided into

four schools prevailing in different parts of India. 

These different schools have the same fundamental principles, but differ in matters of details, especially with reference to the topics of adoption and inheritance. These four sub-schools are as follows:-

(a) The Benares School, which prevails in northern and north-western India except in

rural Punjab where its authority has been considerably modified by customary law.

The main authorities of the school are: the Virmitrodaya and the Nirnaya Sindhu.

(b) The Mithila School, which has most of its followers in Bihar. The main authorities

are: the Vivada Chintamani, the Vivada Ratnakara, the Madana Parijata and the

Vyavahara Mayukha.

(c) The Dravida or Madras School, which prevails in southern India. The principle

authorities are the Smriti Chandrika, the Parashara Madhaviya, the Saraswati Vilasa

and the Vyavahara Nirnaya.

(d) The Maharashtra or Bombay School, which prevails in western India. The main

authorities of the school are: the Viramitrodaya and the Nirnaya-Sindhu.

Differences between Mitakshara and Dayabhaga

The 2 schools differ in the geographical regions they apply to.

• Mitakshara school is the running Commentary on the Yajnavalkya Smriti which was written by Vijnaneshwara, while Dayabhaga was written by Jimutavahana.
• Mitakshra gives a Coparcener son the right to the ancestral property by birth, while in Dayabhaga the son has to wait for his father’s death to acquire the same.
• The position of coparcener Son in Mitakshara School is way more strong since he can demand partition of the joint family property while a Son in Dayabhaga school is not allowed the same.

Impact of migration

While many questions arose on what will be the effect of migration on the schools and which to be governed now. The answer to this is provided in multiple court cases where the court held that if the migration is for a temporary period of time then there will be no impact on the Schools. But if it was a permanent migration then the rules of the new School will be governed and the burden of proving migration shall lie upon the person who pleads the same.

Conclusion

Hindu law was not devised with the intention to curb crime but to be followed to attain salvation.  

The 2 schools of Hindu law are the basic sources of the same which widened the scope, which in turn caused the growth and development of Hindu Law. This has been a big help in the codification process of Hindu law since all the sources of the same was written in Sanskrit making it difficult to interpret at many places and the presence of Schools that have interpreted the same made the task less hectic. 

Currently, in India, all kinds are governed by the codified law but the codified law has kept in mind the role of good customs hence it provides relaxation to certain rules as and when the good custom in that aspect prevails.