Identify the meaning of the term “Patriliny”?

The correct answer is Option (4) → Tracing descent from father to son, grandson and so on

The four options are four different terms of family and marriage.

Option (1) Term used when descent is traced through the mother — Incorrect. This is matriliny, the opposite of patriliny.

Option (2) The practice of a woman having several husbands — Incorrect. This is polyandry, a form of marriage, not a way of tracing descent. Draupadi’s marriage with the Pandavas is the best-known example in the Mahabharata.

Option (3) The practice of a man having several wives — Incorrect. This is polygyny, again a form of marriage.

Option (4) Tracing descent from father to son, grandson and so on — Correct. This is patriliny. Under it, sons could claim the resources of their fathers, including the throne in the case of kings. The central story of the Mahabharata ends with patrilineal succession being proclaimed.

NCERT (2025-26): “2.2 The ideal of patriliny … After that, patrilineal succession was proclaimed. While patriliny had existed prior to the composition of the epic, the central story of the Mahabharata reinforced the idea that it was valuable. Under patriliny, sons could claim the resources (including the throne in the case of kings) of their fathers when the latter died.…”