"Father's son, rider's horse, if not a lot, then little by little." This is an old saying that means that a child inherits some of the father's traits, like "father's son" and "bred horse." Even if a son doesn't exactly resemble his father, he still inherits some traits, which are inherited. The process of passing traits from parents to their offspring through genetic information is called heredity. A new topic to discover. This is the evolution to the more scientific DNA system. The biological process of heredity has been put in Sanskrit in following words ;
अवश्यं पितुराचारं पुत्रः समनुवर्तते |
नहि केतकवृक्षस्य भवत्यामलकीफलं ||
Avashyam pituraacharam putrah samanuvartate. Nahi ketakvrukshasya bhavatyaamalakeephalam.
Avashyam = certainly.
Pituraacharam = pituh + aacharam.
Pituh = father.
Aacharam = behaviour
Putrah = son.
Samanuvartate = conforms, similar to.
Nahi = surely not.
Ketak = name of an indigenous tree producing fragrant flowers.
Vrukshasya = tree's.
Bhavatyaamalakeephalam = bhavati + aamalaki + phalam.
Bhavati = happens.
Aamalaki = Indian gooseberry tree.
Phalam = fruits.
i.e. *A son certainly behaves like his father. Does a Ketak tree ever bear fruit like a Gooseberry tree?
In this proverb, the tendency of all living beings to pass on their hereditary qualities from one generation to the next has been explained by giving the analogy of Ketaki tree and Amla (gooseberry) trees. A Ketaki tree will never give gooseberry fruits.
Heredity is the biological process by which genes and their associated traits are passed down from parents to their children. The similarities you see among family members, such as a child inheriting eye color from one parent and hair color from the other, are examples of heredity. It is an interesting topic to study, as it reveals why you have certain traits like eye color, how variations arise and are passed down, and how this can lead to inherited diseases or adaptations that improve a species' survival rate over time.