Семантичка сфера риг-ведског појма deváḥ и роблеми њеног одређења
Indra (and) the Only God - The Semantic Sphere of the Rig-Vedic deváḥ and the Problems of Its Determination

Summary/Abstract: This paper strives to determine the semantic sphere of the Rig-Vedic deváḥ in its contextual use of the formulaic phrase devá ékaḥ, which in hymns 1. 32 and 10. 104 respectively denotes Vritra and Indra. Regarding the established representamen of the deities worshipped during the ritual practices – deváḥ, and its antipode in the case of their divine opponents – dāsáḥ, the question arises to what extent the original text contributes to this polarisation, and to what extent this happens due to the prior constructed perception of the Vedic religion; moreover, how the use of both signifiants could be explained in the case of Vritra, the serpent who trapped the rivers and who is the personified obstacle and primordial rival of Indra. While previous studies were primarily oriented to the mythological background and the perception of the divine quality according to these opposing forces within the cosmic battle, the aim of this paper is to outline the uncertainty and indeterminacy of the linguistic sign itself and pay attention to the text composing individual hymns that, whilst using the respective mechanisms of contextualization and connotation, allows us to look for a closer definition within the wide semantic spectrum of the Rig-Vedic god.

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