4.13 And I am not bound by it Krishna speaks
चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः
तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम्
chātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛiṣhṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśhaḥ
tasya kartāram api māṁ viddhyakartāram avyayam
The four orders were brought forth by me, divided according to quality and work. Know me as their maker — and know also that I am not bound by it.
Explanation
The four orders — and then, in the same breath, a disclaimer.
Brought forth by him, divided according to quality and work. Know me as their maker — and know also that I am not bound by it.
The second clause is easy to skip and hard to unhear. The division is attributed and then immediately declared not binding on the one who made it.
Going further
Word by word
- chātuḥ-varṇyam
- the four categories of occupations
- mayā
- by me
- sṛiṣhṭam
- were created
- guṇa
- of quality
- karma
- and activities
- vibhāgaśhaḥ
- according to divisions
- tasya
- of that
- kartāram
- the creator
- api
- although
- mām
- me
- viddhi
- know
- akartāram
- non-doer
- avyayam
- unchangeable
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The four orders, divided by quality and work — and then, in the same breath, know also that I am not bound by it.
This verse has carried an enormous amount of history, most of it hardening a description into a hierarchy of birth. The Sanskrit says guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśhaḥ: divided according to disposition and work. Not lineage. It is worth reading the second half as seriously as the first: the maker of the system states plainly that he stands outside it.