Bg. 4.13 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः । तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ॥ १३ ॥

Verse text

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ tasya kartāram api māṁ viddhy akartāram avyayam

Synonyms

cātuḥ-varṇyam — the four divisions of human society ; mayā — by Me ; sṛṣṭam — created ; guṇa — of quality ; karma — and work ; vibhāgaśaḥ — in terms of division ; tasya — of that ; kartāram — the father ; api — although ; mām — Me ; viddhi — you may know ; akartāram — as the nondoer ; avyayam — unchangeable.

Translation

According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the nondoer, being unchangeable.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

13. The four varṇas were created by Me according to distinctions of quality and work. Though I made the system, know that I, being indestructible, am also not the maker of the system.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

13. The four varṇas were created by Me according to distinctions of quality and work. Though I made the system, know that I, being undeviating and impartial, am also detached from the system.

Purport

The Lord is the creator of everything. Everything is born of Him, everything is sustained by Him, and everything, after annihilation, rests in Him. He is therefore the creator of the four divisions of the social order, beginning with the intelligent class of men, technically called brāhmaṇas due to their being situated in the mode of goodness. Next is the administrative class, technically called the kṣatriyas due to their being situated in the mode of passion. The mercantile men, called the vaiśyas, are situated in the mixed modes of passion and ignorance, and the śūdras, or laborer class, are situated in the ignorant mode of material nature. In spite of His creating the four divisions of human society, Lord Kṛṣṇa does not belong to any of these divisions, because He is not one of the conditioned souls, a section of whom form human society. Human society is similar to any other animal society, but to elevate men from the animal status, the above-mentioned divisions are created by the Lord for the systematic development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The tendency of a particular man toward work is determined by the modes of material nature which he has acquired. Such symptoms of life, according to the different modes of material nature, are described in the Eighteenth Chapter of this book. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, is above even the brāhmaṇas. Although brāhmaṇas by quality are supposed to know about Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth, most of them approach only the impersonal Brahman manifestation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. But a man who transcends the limited knowledge of a brāhmaṇa and reaches the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, becomes a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness – or, in other words, a Vaiṣṇava. Kṛṣṇa consciousness includes knowledge of all different plenary expansions of Kṛṣṇa, namely Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, etc. And as Kṛṣṇa is transcendental to this system of the four divisions of human society, a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is also transcendental to all divisions of human society, whether we consider the divisions of community, nation or species.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

“Indeed, the paths of bhakti and jṣāna give liberation, but the path of karma leads to bondage. Therefore, there is some inequality in You, the creator of all paths, the Supreme Lord.” “That is not so at all. I have created the four varṇas for people who want their own enjoyment.” The suffix ya in the word cātur-varṇya indicates self-interest in the four orders. The brāhmaṇas, predominated by sattva, perform activities such as controlling the senses and mind. The kṣatriyas, who are predominated by rajas and sattva, perform actions such as warfare and acts of heroism. The vaiyśas, predominately tamas and rajas, do farming and raise cows. The śūdras, predominated by tamas, serve others. I have created this system of four varṇas divided according to guṇa and activity, taking shelter of the path of dharma. Know Me as the creator (kārtāram) of the system, since it is created from the guṇas of prakṛti which is My energy. In that way I am the creator, but actually I am not the creator, since My svarūpa is beyond the guṇas and prakṛti. Therefore, I am said to be indestructible (avyayam). I am not at all similar to the varṇas or matter, though I have created them.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

In two verses the Lord speaks of the cause of destroying the desire for enjoyment, which is an obstacle to performance of niṣkāma karma. The suffix ya in cātur varṇyam indicates self-interest in the four varṇas. The brāhmaṇas, predominated by sattva, have actions such as sama and dama, controlling the mind and senses. The kṣatriyas, predominated by rajas, have actions such as fighting. Those with rajas and tamas prominent, the vaiśyas, perform such activities as agriculture. The śūdras, predominated by tamas, serve the other three varṇas. The four varṇas, divided according to these guṇas and activity, were thus created by Me, the Supreme Lord. As well as creating the system, it should be understood from this statement that the Lord also maintains and destroys the four varṇas. I create, maintain and destroy everything in the material universe from Brahma to inanimate objects. The author of Vedānta Sūtras says janmaḍy asya yataḥ: brahman is the source, maintenance and destruction of everything. (Brahma Sūtras 1.1.2) Know that though I am the cause of creation, maintenance and destruction, I am also not the cause, being separated from My action. This means that I am devoid of prejudice in all these actions. Though I am the creator, I do not deviate from impartiality (avyavayam) in regard to the objects of My creation.

Surrender Unto Me

This means that the varnasrama system which is the Vedic system, basically what we heard in the beginning of Chapter Three, is set up to raise someone from the karma‑kanda consciousness, where one has material desires, to niskarma. It is a system that was created for that purpose. It is Krsna's system, He created it, but how one fits in that system ‑ that He doesn't create. That is according to the desires of the living entity, "ye yatha mam prapadyante". Krsna is just simply reacting to people's desires, therefore He is impartial in the awarding of the results of people's activities. This explains when Krsna says: "although I am the creator of this system you should know that I am yet the nondoer". Krsna is saying: "I just created this system that awards people's results of their activities but I am the nondoer I don't Myself award them the fruits of their work, it is the system that I set up." Krsna explanation that He is "unchangeable" it is a technical fact why He has to explain that. Because according to "Nyaya philosophy" if one reacts with something, if I am the one in volved in his life awarding the fruits of his labor, because I am dealing with him directly therefore there must be some transformation, some change in me ‑ because I am reacti what he does and giving him something. Therefore Krsna says: "I am the nondoer and I am unchangeable", because He is aloof. Krsna has done something very tricky, but it is somewhat in the "acyntia bhedabheda" principle. He said: "I am the Supreme controller, I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead but yet I am not responsable to what happens to you". It is like this because ultimately we have to take responsability for what happens to us, even though everything depends on Krsna. It is a very tricky position and a very subtle point what Krsna is doing here. He is saying that He is the Supreme Lord and everything is under His control, yet He is giving us the responsability, because He is giving us free will. Then Krsna explains His "nondoership" by using the words "viddhy akartaram". He is the "akarta". "Karta" means 'doer'. Later on Krsna explains "prakrti kryamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah, ahankara vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate" ‑ 'a person who is bewildered by the three modes of material nature thinks kartaham 'I am the doer'. Krsna says: "If you think that you are the doer you are a vimudha, you are bewildered!" But yet Krsna is saying here that He is not the doer either. Krsna is not the doer, the living entity is not the doer, so who is doing everything? This point is very tricky and gets debated again and again in the vedic system. Krsna sometimes takes one side and sometimes the other side and by the time we reach the 18th Chapter we will understand why.