Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
अक्षराणामकारोऽस्मि द्वन्द्वः सामासिकस्य च ।
अहमेवाक्षयः कालो धाताहं विश्वतोमुखः ॥३३॥
akṣarāṇām a-kāro 'smi
dvandvaḥ sāmāsikasya ca
aham evākṣayaḥ kālo
dhātāhaṁ viśvato-mukhaḥ
Word for word (synonyms)
- akṣarāṇām
- of letters
- akāraḥ
- the first
- asmi
- I am
- dvandvaḥ
- dual
- sāmāsikāsya
- compounds
- ca
- and
- aham
- I am
- eva
- certainly
- akṣayaḥ
- eternal
- kālaḥ
- time
- dhātā
- creator
- aham
- I am
- viśvato-mukhaḥ
- Brahmā
Translation
Of letters I am the letter A, and among compounds I am the dual word. I am also inexhaustible time, and of creators I am Brahmā, whose manifold faces turn everywhere.
Purport
Akāra, the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, is the beginning of the Vedic literature. Without akāra, nothing can be sounded; therefore it is the beginning of sound. In Sanskrit there are also many compound words, of which the dual word, like Rāma-kṛṣṇa, is called dvandvaḥ. For instance, Rāma and Kṛṣṇa have the same rhythm and therefore are called dual.
Among all kinds of killers, time is the ultimate because time kills everything. Time is the representative of Kṛṣṇa because in due course of time there will be a great fire and everything will be annihilated.
Among the creators and living entities, Brahmā is the chief. The various Brahmās exhibit four, eight, sixteen, etc., heads accordingly, and they are the chief creators in their respective universes. The Brahmās are representatives of Kṛṣṇa.
What this verse teaches
Various opulences of Kṛṣṇa (See the table)
| Verse | I am |
|---|---|
| 10.33 | inexhaustible time |
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.