Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 10, Verse 33

अक्षराणामकारोऽस्मि द्वन्द्वः सामासिकस्य च । अहमेवाक्षयः कालो धाताहं विश्वतोमुखः

akṣarāṇāmakāro'smi dvandvaḥ sāmāsikasya ca | ahamevākṣayaḥ kālo dhātāhaṃ viśvatomukhaḥ

Translation

Of letters the letter 'A' am I, and dvandva of all compounds; I am, verily, the inexhaustible Time; I am the All-faced Dispenser.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

akṣarāṇām

of letters

akāraḥ

the letter A

asmi

(I) am

dvandvaḥ

the dvandva

sāmāsikasya

of compounds, the group, of that

ca

and

aham

I

eva

even

akṣayaḥ

everlasting

kālaḥ

time

dhātā

the supporter

aham

I

viśvatomukhaḥ

having faces in every direction

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

'Time' here refers either to what is generally so called — viz., 'kṣaṇa,' a moment, the ultimate element of time — or to the Supreme Lord who is the Time (Kāla = the Measurer) even of time. I am the Dispenser of results of actions to the whole world.