leaping in brightness from afar onto the forestays of firm-thwarted ships’
(Alc. 34. 7–10).
The priest or singer does not know where the god is at the moment. Yet he
feels that his call should carry some indication of its destination, and in the
attempt to cover the alternatives he sometimes uses a formula such as
‘whether you are far or near’, ‘come from near and far’ (RV 1. 27. 3, 47. 7; 3.
- 11; 4. 20. 1; 5. 73. 1; 8. 8. 14, 13. 15, 82. 1, 97. 4; Y. 45. 1). Often a series of
possibilities is listed, creating a pattern that is documented in Hittite, Vedic,
Avestan, and Greek.
Wherever ye may be, O Cedar-gods, whether in heaven or on earth, whether on
mountains or in rivers, whether in the Mitanni country or in the country of Kinza, the
country of Tunip, the country of Ugarit, the country of Zinzira, the country of
Dunanapa, the country of Idarukatta... (and so on for ten more lines)... the country
of Lalha, in the Kashkean country or in whatever other countries –– come ye now back
to the Hatti land!
Storm-god of Nerik, come from heaven, from earth; Storm-god of Nerik, come from
the east, from the west... come to your festival.^29
If you are with Dı ̄rghaprasadman, or if up there in the light of the sky,
or if on the sea in the built house, come from there, O As ́vins...
if today, As ́vins, in the west, if in the east you are, O givers of wealth,
if with Druhyu, Anu, Turvas ́a, (or) Yadu, I call on you: come to me!
If you are flying through the air, O prosperous ones, or if along these two worlds,
or if you mount your car at your inclination, come from there, O As ́vins!(RV 8. 10. 1, 5 f.; cf. 1. 108. 7–12; 5. 60. 6; 8. 9. 12, 65. 1 f., 97. 5.) In 4. 21. 3 a ̄ ́
ya ̄tu Índro divá a ̄ ́ pr
̇
thivya ̄ ́, ‘let Indra come from heaven, from earth’, we
have a remarkably close parallel, in syntax as well as content, with the second
Hittite passage quoted above, ‘come from heaven, from earth’ (nebisaz
daganzipaz ehuwa).
Even if you are, O truthful Rasˇnav, in the region Arəzahı ̄, we invoke (you)...
Even if you are, O truthful Rasˇnav, in the region Savahı ̄, we invoke (you)...
Even if you are, O truthful Rasˇnav, in the region Fradafsˇu ̄, we invoke (you)...(And so on for another twenty-six verses; Yt. 12. 9–37.)
But whether in regions of the Libyan land
beside the flowing Triton, her birth-river,(^29) CTH 483, trs. A. Goetze in ANET 352; CTH 386 (1) 7–19, ed. Lebrun (1980), 365. For other
Hittite examples see CTH 377 i 8–10, ed. Lebrun (1980), 181; 406 i 40, ed. H. Hoffner, Aula
Orientalis 5 (1987), 273; 716 §4–6, trs. B. J. Collins in W. W. Hallo–K. L. Younger (edd.), The
Context of Scripture, i: Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World (Leiden–New York–Köln
1997), 164.
322 8. Hymns and Spells