The doctrine of what is called maintenance plays an important part in the Hindu law, and, as we shall see, it modifies considerably the rigour of the Hindu law in excluding from the succession females or persons suffering from mental or bodily infirmity. The right of maintenance under the Hindu law is the right which certain persons have to be maintained out of property which is not their own. The persons who in certain circumstances have this right are sons, widows, parents and unmarried daughters and sisters. The claim of the widow arises at the death of her husband; of a child at the death of its parent, and so forth. The claim is not for a bare subsistence only, but to such a provision as is suitable to the claimant having regard to his or her position in life. Of course the sons are generally heirs, and an heir can have no claim to maintenance; but a son excluded by any mental or bodily defect would have a right to maintenance. The girls are generally married in infancy, and after marriage they have no claim to maintenance from their own family. The most frequent claim is by the widow; and it is a very important one, because she can sometimes, through the assertion of this claim, put herself almost in the position of an heir. If a Hindu under the Dayabhaga dies leaving sons and a widow, the widow is entitled to maintenance, and whilst the family remains joint she can claim to be suitably maintained, in the family if she remains in her husband's house, or out of it if she goes elsewhere. But if a partition takes place she is entitled to have a share equal to that of the sons set aside for her use. She can even, if she thinks that the sons do not treat her properly, apply to the court to compel the sons to give her a separate share. This, of course, gives her a very strong position. Whether in a Mitacshara joint family the widow enjoying maintenance can in any case claim a share on partition is doubtful. Women's property.