Time and language can point to Krishna.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
अक्षराणामकारोऽस्मि द्वन्द्वः सामासिकस्य च |अहमेवाक्षयः कालो धाताहं विश्वतोमुखः ||१०-३३||
akṣarāṇāmakāro.asmi dvandvaḥ sāmāsikasya ca . ahamevākṣayaḥ kālo dhātāhaṃ viśvatomukhaḥ ||10-33||
Use this verse for time and speech mindfulness.
Meaning
Among letters I am A; among compounds I am dvandva; I am imperishable time and the all-faced sustainer.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Krishna is the first sound, time, and the sustainer facing all directions.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
The letter A suggests origin, time suggests inevitability, and the all-faced sustainer suggests that divine order watches and supports everything.
Read the traditional commentary
Among letters Krishna is 'A' (akāra), the first sound, the source from which all speech unfolds — for every spoken syllable begins with the opening of the mouth in that primal vowel. As the root of language, it fittingly symbolizes the root of all manifestation.
He then declares Himself akṣayaḥ kālaḥ — inexhaustible, everlasting Time — and dhātā, the dispenser who apportions the fruits of all actions, viśvato-mukhaḥ, 'facing in every direction.' Here the glory deepens into awe: the Divine is the eternal Time that outlasts all things, and the impartial sustainer who oversees the moral fabric of the cosmos from every side at once.
Nothing escapes His view; nothing falls outside His ordering. To contemplate this is to feel both the smallness of the ego and the vast, watchful presence that upholds the whole.
In daily life
Speak and spend time consciously.
Before speaking, a person can ask if words create clarity or confusion.
Try this today
Use one minute and one sentence more consciously today.
My time and speech become sacred.Reflect
How am I using my time and speech?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘धाता अहम्’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on omnipresence, in other chapters
- Verse 11.20 · ArjunaThe Divine fills all of space, and to truly perceive its power is to tremble in genuine awe.
- Verse 4.2Even the highest wisdom fades when it stops being practiced and transmitted with sincerity; truth must be renewed in every age.
- Verse 9.16When you see the Divine in every part of an act, life itself becomes a seamless, sacred offering.
- Verse 13.14The one supreme awareness perceives and acts through every being everywhere — it has no outside.
Swipe left for 10.34 · Endings and virtues both reveal Krishna.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 10.33
Who says Bhagavad Gita 10.33, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 10.33, in Chapter 10, Vibhuti Yoga (Vibhuti Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 10.33 mean?
Among letters I am A; among compounds I am dvandva; I am imperishable time and the all-faced sustainer. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 10.33 for daily life?
Speak and spend time consciously. Before speaking, a person can ask if words create clarity or confusion.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 10.33 mean?
अक्षराणाम् — among the letters; अकारः अस्मि — I am the letter 'A'; द्वन्द्वः — the dual (dvandva) compound; सामासिकस्य च — among compounds; अहम् एव — I alone.
Where does verse 10.33 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 33 of 42 in Chapter 10, Vibhuti Yoga. The next verse is 10.34.