Ancient India Has Defined 12 Types Of Children

In Ancient India, 12 types of children were considered to be legal heir of his father. All of them need not be biological children of their legal father. Manu Smriti and other dharma sastras describe 12 different ways a child can become legal heir of someone.

1. Aurasa

Biological son through wife in a normal marriage, where son carries father’s Y-Chromosome.

2. Putrikaputra

When there is no son, girl is treated as son and her son becomes legal heir (ex : Babruvahana, born to Arjuna and Chitrangada, but became legal heir of his maternal-grandfather.)

3. Kshetraja

Wife’s womb but husband is not biological father. (ex: Kunti, Madri giving birth to pandavas). This can happen even after husband’s death and still the children born will be treated as deceased father’s heir

4. Dattaka

Adopted through legal method or vedic ritual.

5. Kritima

A child is nourished and brough up as a son, but no adoption rituals performed. Child grows up and assumes you as parent.

6. Gudhaja

Wife’s secret son, without husband’s knowledge. This child also is heir of father. Only difference with Kshetraja is, husband’s approval or knowledge.

7. Apaviddha

Rejected child of some parent, but grew up with others. This child can claim property of person who nourished him, but cannot do pind-daan or death rituals to ancestors of that family (example : Karna did not or could not do pind-daan to ancestors of the adhirtha-radha)

8. Kanina

Son born to a lady before her marriage. But he becomes legal heir of his mother’s future husband. (ex : Karna would have inherited the throne of Hastinapur after the death of Pandu being his eldest son as per this law, but birth of Karna was kept secret by Kunti and she revealed the truth only after the death of Karna. )

9. Sahodha

A son is brought along with the marriage. If a woman was pregnant at the time of her marriage, the son born to her after her marriage was deemed to be the son of the man who married her, even though the biological father was a different man.

10. Krita

He is a purchased son.

11. Paunarbhava

The son of a virgin widow. She after her marriage became a ‘Punarbhu’ ( married second time). Such marriages happened when husband dies during or immediately after marriage and wife is still a virgin. She can re-marry a person of her choice, but a son born from that marriage belongs to the family of 1st deceased husband. She can claim rights only from 2nd kid and so on.

12. Swayamdatta

‘Self Offered son’, When an orphaned boy went to some person and offered himself to be his son and the latter accepted his offer, the boy in such a case was called Swayamdatta.