Sushmajee
Dictionary Of Hindu Religion | Dictionary
| Dictionary-P-Q | |
| Putra (Son) |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P-Q R S T-U V-W-X Y-Z Son. It is written in MBH, Ashwamedh, 90, " Shruti say that one's child is called Putra because one is rescued by him." Kinds of Putra (Manu)
(1) Auras Putra - He is a son who is born of a regular marriage in one’s own
field, i.e., Between the person of the same caste or Varn.
(2) Kshetraj Putra - He is born to the wife of a deceased, sickly or an impotent
person, in pursuance of a Niyog ceremony, i.e., Through the contact of an
appointed person. (3) Dattak Putra - Adopted son. A son who is given away willingly by parents in time of adversity to another person like them or "Sadrashya". Hargovinda Sastri translates the world Sadrashya as referring to those belonging to the same caste. This son is called a Dattak Putra of the person taking that son.
(4) Kritrim Putra - The term Kritrim literally means artificial son. He is just
regarded as son by a person of the same caste, of course, after keeping his nature,
qualifications and defects in view.
(5) Goodhotpann Putra - This word ‘goodhotpann’ means, ‘secretly’ born. A son
about whom it may be impossible to say with certainty that he was conceived as
a result of the union of another’s wife and a person of the same caste as that
of her husband, but the real father cannot be particularly pin pointed, is known
as the ‘secretly born’ son of the husband of such a woman.
(6) Apaviddhaa Putra - He is a son who is accepted by another person after being
abandoned by his parents. In this case, the condition of the son being the offspring
of the persons belonging to the same caste or Varn, does not seem to be applicable.
(7) Kaaneen Putra - He is born to an unmarried girl while living with her parents as
a result of illicit relation and is regarded to be the Kaaneen son of the person with
whom such a girl is ultimately married.
(8) Sahodha Putra - This kind of son is slightly different from Kaaneen Putra. In
this case, the girl is married in the stage of pregnancy and the birth of the son take
place after the marriage. He is regarded to the son of such girl’s husband.
(9) Kreet Putra - He is bought for a price, paid to his parents who may be belonging
to any Varn.
(10) Paunarbhav Putra - He is one born to a woman who is either a widow or otherwise
deserted by her husband. Such birth is obviously the result of contact with a woman of a
person than her husband.
(11) Swayam-datt Putra - Swayam menas self and Datt means given or offered. Thus in
this type of case, a son himself offers to a parent to be his son. He is a son who,
having been abandoned by his parents, offers himself to be treated as son by another
person. In this case, this son himself, in a way, adopts his father.
(12) Shaudra Putra or Paarshwa Putra - He is born, into a Shoodra woman,
froma Braahman.
He is regarded as dead even while living - means a son born from a Braahman man
and a Shoodra woman. Incidentally, Kshetraj Putra is regarded as the best of all other hands of sons, excepting Auras Putra. Modern man will react strongly if he is asked to consider many kind of sons approved by Manu as his own sons. Modern society, thus, appears to be morally far superior to the one referred to by Manu-Smriti. Manu’s society, in another sense, could also be said to have been ultra modern in the matter of tolerating so much of nonsense, promiscuity, illegal contacts and adulterous behavior on the part of both men and women. The enactment of detailed provisions regarding various kinds of sons discussed above, implies that the situations giving rise to birth of such sons were so common that a regular law, to be operated in the name of Dharm, had to be considered inevitable by the author of Manu-Smriti. The manner, in which Kshetraj Putra, Kritrim Putra, Goodhotpann Putra, Kaaneein Putra were born, also is an indicator of the unenviable position of woman during the relevant times. Did it speak of her greater freedom? Kinds of Putra (Ved) Putrikaa Dharm Putra -
They are those sons who are born from one's daughters and then accepted by
their maternal grandfathers (mother's father)
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Created by Sushma Gupta on 3/15/06
Contact: sushmajee@yahoo.com
Updated on
01/10/13