Bhagavad Gita 10.33
अक्षराणामकारोऽस्मि द्वन्द्वः सामासिकस्य च | अहमेवाक्षयः कालो धाताहं विश्वतोमुखः ||
akṣarāṇām akāro'smi dvandvaḥ sāmāsikasya ca | aham evākṣayaḥ kālo dhātāhaṁ viśvato-mukhaḥ ||
Translation
Among letters I am the letter A. Among compounds, the dvandva. I am the imperishable time. I am the supporter, facing every direction.
Reflection
Where do tiny detail and cosmic claim meet in one breath for you?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Ten
Four more, several technical. Among letters, the letter A; among grammatical compounds, the dvandva. The imperishable time, and the dhata, the supporter, facing every direction. The grammatical placements are doing serious work. The letter A is the first sound of the alphabet, the vowel from which all other vowels are uttered; the dvandva is the compound of equal terms, the joining of two without subordination. Krishna places Himself at both the origin of language and the form of grammar that holds opposites together as equals. The next two items widen back out. Akshaya kala, imperishable time, is the principle of duration. Dhata vishvato-mukha, the supporter with faces in every direction, is the cosmic role the previous chapter named in different words. The verse holds tiny detail and cosmic claim in the same breath.