Adoption

One of the most important requirements
for every Hindu male is to have at least
one son, so that the funeral rites for himself and for his ancestors will be correctly
performed and maintained. These rites
are considered central for the well-being
of the dead, particularly the recently
departed. Even in modern times, only
men are allowed to perform funeral rites.
Given the importance of these ceremonies, men with no biological sons
adopt a son to guarantee the performance
of the ceremony. The ideal candidate is a
blood relative, such as a brother’s son, who
is of equal social status with the adoptive
father. Through adoption the boy
becomes a member of another family, but
the legal texts disagree on his continuing
relationship with his natal family. Many
sources claim that an adopted son has no
right to the inheritance of his natal family
and no entitlement to offer funeral rites
for those ancestors, since by adoption he
has become part of another family. Other
texts speak of special arrangements by
which an adopted son is considered to
have two fathers, one biological, one
adopted. He inherits from, and performs
ancestral rites for both fathers.