Chaturvarnyam Maya Srishtam

In a family, one person farms, another trades, a third teaches, a fourth serves. Each follows their nature and aptitude. Krishna says the four varnas were created by Him according to guna (innate qualities) and karma (the work a person does) — not by birth alone. The division is natural, not arbitrary.

But then comes the deeper teaching. Though I am the creator of this system, know Me as the non-doer, the imperishable. Rain falls from the sky and makes the earth green, yet the sky remains untouched by mud. Krishna acts without being bound by the act.

This shloka has been widely discussed in the tradition. The emphasis on guna and karma — rather than birth — as the basis of varna is explicit in the text.

The next shloka (4.14) explains why actions do not bind Krishna: because He has no desire for their fruits.