Verse 10.33

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 10.33:

अक्षराणाम् अ-कारोऽस्मि द्वन्द्वः सामासिकस्य च ।
अहम् एवाक्षयः कालो धाताहं विश्वतो-मुखः ॥ ३३ ॥

akṣarāṇām a-kāro'smi dvandvaḥ sāmāsikasya ca |
aham evākṣayaḥ kālo dhātāhaṃ viśvato-mukhaḥ || 33 ||

akṣarāṇām–of letters; a-kāraḥ–the letter A; asmi–I am; dvandvaḥ–the dual compound; sāmāsikasya–of compound words in Sanskrit verse; ca–and; aham–I; eva–certainly; akṣayaḥ–unchanging; kālaḥ–time; dhātā–the creator, Brahmā; aham–I; viśvataḥ–are on all sides; mukhaḥ–whose faces.

Of letters I am the letter A, and of compound words I am dvandva, the dual compound. Among annihilators I am all-powerful time in the form of Mahākāla Rudra, and of creators I am Lord Brahmā.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

“Among compound words I am dvandva, or the dual compound. Because both syllables are prominent, dvandva is the best. Among the annihilators, I am Mahākāla Rudra (akṣayaḥ kālaḥ), inexhaustible time. Among creators, I am viśvato-mukhaḥ, the four-headed Brahmā.”

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

Among letters, I am a-kāra. A-kāra is the first letter [of the Sanskrit alphabet] and because it is part of all other Sanskrit letters, it is the best. This is also stated in the Śrutis: “akṣarāṇām a-kāro’smi–among letters I am the first letter, A” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.16.12). Bhagavān says that among compound words, He is dvandva, the dual compound. When, in the process of making one word, two or more other words give up their case endings and are combined together, it is called samāsa, and the resulting word is called samāsa-pada, or compound word. Primarily, there are six types of samāsa: (1) dvandva, (2) bahuvrihi, (3) karmadhāraya, (4) tat-puruṣa, (5) dvigu and (6) avyayībhāva. Among them dvandva is the best because in other compounds either the first or second part is prominent, or both words combined together give the meaning of another (third) object, but in the dvandva-samāsa both words remain prominent, such as Rāma-Kṛṣṇa or Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, Śrī Kṛṣṇa has said that the dvandva-samāsa (dual compound) is His vibhūti, or opulence.