Understanding of the Vedic phrases sravah ... aksitam and aksiti sravah has sometimes been obscured by an unthinking equation with Greek kleos aphthiton, as used at Homer, Iliad 9.413. Building on Floyd 1980 (Glotta 58: 133-157), this paper introduces an important new set of comparanda, viz., Rig-Veda 9.110.5 and Theognis, 245-246.

According to Matasovic, A Theory of Textual Reconstruction in Indo-European Linguistics (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1996) p. 66, the Vedic rishis were "preoccupied" with earthly fame-conveying treasures. This is supposed to explain the divergence in usage between Vedic sravah aksitam and Homeric kleos aphthiton. Actually, though, Vedic sravah, in the context of aksitam, can indeed have a more or less other-worldly reference. Albeit with some oversimplification, it can be said that (1) when aksitam / aksiti modifies sravah, the combination consistently refers to festive celebration, possessions, etc., but (2) when the noun and adjective appear together but are grammatically more independent of one another, there can be an association with, e.g., Soma's bestowing amrta 'immortality'.

The latter pattern appears at Rig-Veda 9.110.5, which contains the noun sravasa (instrumental, 'by fame') and the accusative adjective aksitam ('unfailing'). A close Greek parallel is found at Theognis 245-246, where the Greek cognates kleos and aphthiton are both used, but the two words are not directly combined. The Vedic and Greek passages also resemble one another in their overall tenor (a transcendence of ordinary human limitations) and setting (Soma ritual / symposium), as well as associated vocabulary (such as suryah / eelios 'sun').