Lieut.-Colonel Tov’s Comparison of the Hindu and Theban Hercules. 151 
gazed with interest on the refreshing cascade issuing from a fissure of the 
bleak rock rent by the club of Baldeva to assuage the thirst of the mother 
of the Pandus; and partaken of the sorrow of the narrator as, seated on 
the margin of the lotos fountain,* he related, on the spot where it happened, 
the martyrdom of Heri by the forester Bhil. With this guide and votary 
of the deity of the Yamuna I have made pilgrimage to the éumulus where 
his ashes were deposited, and mingled my resentment with his as he marked 
the shrine of an Islamite saint in contaminating contiguity with that of the 
lover of Radha. With him I have allowed my imagination to carry me back 
three thousand years, and as he pointed out the mountain at whose base the 
mild yet manly Arjana, conqueror of the suitors of Panchalica, was despoiled 
of his victorious bow by the Bhil, have pondered with a lively interest on 
the vicissitudes of their fortunes. These are the scenes which excite the 
Hindu, whether the proud Rajpoot, the humble peasant, or man of wealth ; 
and you must see them and converse with them under the influence of 
such impressions, to understand the moral effect upon their lives and 
character. 
It would be out of place to detail the lengthened adventures of the 
Hericulas of the Rajpoots, but there is one incident so characteristic, and 
out of which has sprung one of the most distinguished architectural deco- 
rations, that its insertion here may be deemed not inadmissible. If 
Vitruvius attributes those graceful supporters of entablatures to the damsels 
of Caria, we may ascribe their counterpart to the Pandus at a period still 
more remote; though the H1npu Gutachuc possesses neither the euphony or 
grace of the Grecian Caryatide. 
Gutachuc was the son of the forest king of Herimba, and as his sister 
became enamoured of the valiant Bhima, so he transferred his affections to 
the beauteous Dripdevi, the common spouse of the exiled brothers. Al- 
though necessity had compelled Bhima not to repudiate the advances of the 
gigantic daughter of Herimba, he was determined even to risk the for- 
feiture of the sanctuary they enjoyed, to punish this revolting proposal. 
Drapdevi was instructed to consent and to name the temple as the place of 
assignation. Overjoyed at his success he failed not in punctuality, but as 
his audacious hand was raised to remove the veil from her face, the nervous 
arm of Bhima rent the supporting column of the temple. To save himself 
* Comala-coonda. 
