ZBORNIK - Matica srpska

the Greek oracula (manteia, chresteria) and the Indian devavani
(siddhavani or akasavani) are to be found in maximum vogue in
drama. Perhaps in life too they were the most popular methods.
In the dramatic structure of a given play an oracular announcement
or a siddhavani is synchronically ever-present. Like the oath,
all action is geared towards it. Its fulfilment in itself does not matter,
but the feeling that every event directly or circuitously is leading
towards its fulfilment, is what matters more. Whereas an oath
falls within the area of human effort (purushartha or aretee), the
prophecy is the force of supernatural which was daiva, dike, or
moira. The purpose of nearly every muthos is to show the interplay
between the individual virtue and the divine intention. The result
may be tragic or happy.
As a general observation it may seem true that the oracular dominates
the Greek dramatic scene with a force which has no equal
in any other drama. This is more true of tragedy, as it may be said
that the confrontation of the human with the Olympian is what
makes up tragedy. The Greek comedies or the satyr plays do not
have the terrorizing figures of hoary prophets as they are an exercise
in scoffing the divine, which is depicted as weak and tardy.
However, in the Indian dramatic universe there is as much intervention
of the divine through prophecies or curses as much in the
Greek universe, even though here the confrontation between the
human and the divine does not acquire tragic sparagmos. To repeat,
the human and divine are constantly juxtaposed in both the theatres
even if one chooses to show the horrific form of the divine, while
the other more often depicts its finally conciliatory nature.
There is little need to cite examples of mantic pronouncements
in the Greek plays, as there is hardly a play in which an oracle is
not announced either through a soothsayer, or a message is not received
from the shrine of mantike. If none of these, a god himself
or herself may appear to make a pronouncement, as does Aphrodite
in 'Hippolytos' and Apollo in 'Alcestis'. Sometimes the hero narrates
how he is pursuing a course of action under an oracular command
as does Orestes in 'Choephorl' and in 'Iphigenia at Tauris'.
In the Indian plays, daivavani or sapa is usually not made during
the course of the play. Of course, there are famous instances of
Durvasa's curse upon Sakuntala and Carudatta's upon Palaka, both
pronounced and effected during the plays, so is Rama of 'Uttararamacarita'
(Act II) instructed by 'asaririni vak' to kill the erring
Sambuka, however, in most cases the prophecy to be fulfilled in the
play is mentioned to have been made long before the events depicted.
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