The Positive Sciences of the Ancient Hindus c9.s4.10

c9.s4.10

*N.B.*—The seventh tissue (the *Śukradharâ kalâ*, sperm-bearing or reproductive) contains the parental Vîja, which is a minute organism (समुदायात्मक) deriving its elements from the parental organs, but distinct from the latter, and independent of their peculiarities, and it is the combination and characters of these constituent elements of the parental Vîja in the reproductive tissue that determine the physiological characters and predispositions of the offspring. We may call this Âtreya's *germ-plasm* theory, for it is an advance on the conception of gemmules and of ids, but in Âtreya's version the “germ-plasm” is not only representative of the “somatic” tissues, but also generates and is generated by the latter. This mutual interaction of the “germ-plasm” and “somatic tissues” is a distinctive feature of Âtreya's hypothesis, the value of which will be differently estimated by different schools of biologists.