Bhagavad Gita BG 10.33
Chapter 10, Verse 33 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
अक्षराणामकारोऽस्मि द्वन्द्वः सामासिकस्य च । अहमेवाक्षयः कालो धाताहं विश्वतोमुखः ॥
aksharanam akaro 'smi dvandvah samasikasya ca aham evakshayah kalo dhata 'ham vishvato-mukhah
Meaning
Among letters I am the letter A; among compound words I am the dvandva. I alone am the imperishable Time; I am the Creator, the all-faced.
Understanding
Akshara (letters): Akara — the letter A, the first and foundational letter, from which all other letters arise. Among Sanskrit compounds (samasika): dvandva (the dual compound, the pair-word) is identified — perhaps because it represents the fundamental structure of pairing. Akshayah kala — the imperishable Time (different from the measuring Kala of v30 — this is Kala as imperishable, eternal). DhAtA vishvato-mukha — the Creator with face in all directions — the divine that faces everything simultaneously.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| अक्षराणाम् | aksharanam | among letters/syllables |
| अकारः | akarah | the letter A (the first letter) |
| द्वन्द्वः | dvandvah | dvandva compound (dual/pair compound) |
| अक्षयः | akshayah | imperishable, inexhaustible |
| विश्वतोमुखः | vishvato-mukhah | all-faced, facing in all directions |
| अक्षराणाम् | akṣarāṇām | of letters |
| अकारः | akāraḥ | the letter A |
| अस्मि | asmi | I am |
| द्वन्द्वः | dvandvaḥ | the dual compound |
| समासिकस्य | samāsikasya | of compound words |
| च | ca | and |
| अहम् | aham | I am |
| एव | eva | also |
| अक्षयः | akṣayaḥ | the inexhaustible |
| कालः | kālaḥ | time |
| धाता | dhātā | the creator, the sustainer |
| अहम् | aham | I am |
| विश्वतः-मुखः | viśvataḥ-mukhaḥ | facing all directions |