Explain

Origin of co-parcenary:- The origin of co-parcenary itself is lost in antiquity. Sage Manu says that a person becomes the owner of a field which he has cleared of the jungle by the labour.  In this way property originated. When the owner married, he established a family. Sage Manu  was familiar  with the patriarchal family consisting of a male, his wife (or wives), and his childre. On the death of the family - head, his sons took the property. The daughters could not inherit. Manu recognised only one female as heir, viz.,daughter, in the absence of sons. Manu recognised only asagotra marriage. So, on marriage a female would have another gotra and would be transferred to a different family. That is  one reason why the rights of females  could not be recognised in early times.

Thus, females were members of the joint family only until their marriage. The wives of the sons were received into the family and became membersof the joint  family. But there is no property right accrued to them beyond the right to maintenance. Even the right of widow to inherit was not recognised by sage Manu (200 year B.C.)It was recognised by the time of Yagnavalkya (200 year A.D.) Yagnavalkya draws a distinction between ancestral property and self-acquired  property. He gave the right of inheritance to the females only in the latter. The ancestral property remained only with males.  These males were callled co-parceners. The co-parceners  are: the son, son's son and son's son.These three generationswere comprehensively callled 'puthra'.

Every partition involves an exchange of interests in properties. Every co-parcener, as every co - sharer, is entitled toa share in every inch and in every particle of  the joint properties.