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Jaina Biology
tionary history of their ancestors in some abbreviated form 24. “In 1866 Ernst Haeckel developed his theory that embryos, in the course of development, repeat the evolutionary history of their ancestors in some abbreviated form" 25 This idea, succinctly stated as “Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny"..... focussed attention on the general resemblance between embryonic development and the evolutionary process. It is now clear that the embryos of the higher animals resemble the embryos of lower forms, not the adults, as Haeckel had believed. The earlly stages of all vertebrate embryos are remarkably similar and it is not easy to differentiate a human embryo from the embryo of pig, chick, frog, or fish."26
In Jaina Biology it is found in connection with the human embryonic development that in recapitulating its evolutionary history in a few days, weeks or months, 27 the human embryo eliminates some steps and distorts others. In addition, some new characters have evolved which are adaptive and enable the embryo to survive.28
The human embryo develops kalala (zygote or flat disc29) after fertilization within seven days, arbuda (cylindrical embryo or hard mass) develops within next seven days and so on up to in the seventh month of pregnancy, there develop 7000 śirās (veins ?), 500 muscles, 9 dhamanis (arteris ?), 9900000 hair follicles without hair and beard, and 35000000 hair follicles with hair.30 That is to say "During the seventh month of intra - uterine development the human embryo resembles - in being completely covered with hair and in relative size of body and limbs - a baby more ape than it does an adult human.”31
24. Biology, p. 544. 25. Biology, p. 545. 26. Ibid, p. 546. 27. Tandula Veyaliya, 2, p. 6. 28. Ibid. 29. Ibid.
30. Tandula Veyaliya 2, p. 6. "Sattāham, Kalalam, etc."
"Sattaham Kalalam hoim, sattāham hoi abbuyam upto sattame mase satta sirāsayāim 700 panaca pesisayaim 500 navadbamaņio navapauim ca romakuvasayasa hassāim nivattei 9900000 viņā kesamamsunā saha kesamamsuna addhutzhão
romakuvākodio nivvattei 35000000 /." 31. Biology, p 547.
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