BG 4.13 — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 4.13Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः ।

तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ॥

cātur-varṇyaṃ mayā sṛṣṭaṃ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ

tasya kartāram api māṃ viddhy akartāram avyayam

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

The fourfold order was created by Me, sorted by the qualities people carry and the work those qualities fit, yet know Me as the non-doer, unchanging and untouched by it all.

ekras · bhāṣya

Krishna names the catur-varnya as his own creation, and his own non-doership of it. "The fourfold order was created by me, sorted by guna-karma-vibhaga. Know me as its karta — and also as akarta, avyaya." The verse holds two claims that look contradictory. The first: the catur-varnya — the four-varna social order — is maya srishtam, by me created. The second: its karta is also akarta, the unchanging non-doer. Both must be held at once. The vibhaga is precise. Guna-karma-vibhaga — the distribution by quality and corresponding work. Brahmanas have predominant sattva, fitted for shama-dama-shastra-study; kshatriyas have sattva-rajas mixed, fitted for protection and battle; vaishyas have rajas-tamas, fitted for trade and agriculture; shudras have tamas predominant, fitted for service. The differentiation is in the guna-distribution of the embodied beings, and the karmic adhikara follows from that.

Madhusudana opens with the structural argument: the unequal guna-distribution that initiates each body guarantees beings cannot be of uniform nature. The catur-varnya encodes empirical fact, not arbitrary hierarchy. The deeper claim is in the second half. Tasya kartaram api mam viddhy akartaram avyayam. Know me as its karta and also as akarta.

Krishna creates the order without becoming the doer of it.

Madhva insists on the karta claim — Krishna is the true karta, sovereignly.

Shankara reads the akarta claim as the Lord's standing above the production he brings forth. Both readings hold the structure: a creating that does not entangle the creator in the karmic chain that the creation generates.

Context

where

Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 4.12

People who want quick results from their actions worship the devas here in the human world, and they get those results fast, because in this realm the fruit of action ripens swiftly.

What's going on

The fourfold order was created by Me, sorted by the qualities people carry and the work those qualities fit, yet know Me as the non-doer, unchanging and untouched by it all.

Sūtras through this verse · hub (51)

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

4.9His acts are willed only to bless others.───→here4.13───→11.1By high compassion He showed the world-form.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

2.69Ignorance is night, wisdom alone wakes.───→here4.13───→4.42Cut the heart's doubt with the sword of knowledge.

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

2.18'Imperishable' is said to mark off the Lord.───→here4.13───→4.24Every word for ritual points back to Viṣṇu.

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RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipstation · anchor

───→here4.13───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Creates yet uncreatedstation · other · station 2/8

───→here4.13───→

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksstation

───→here4.13───→

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesbetween

4.6Avatāras differ in their fullness of Hari.───→here4.13───→6.9Devas, asuras, mortals are three native kinds.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadbetween

4.8Ṛgveda khilas explain the descent as play.───→here4.13───→6.6Maitrāyaṇī defines the stilled mind.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordbetween

4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.───→here4.13───→7.4Eight elements name the inert side of nature.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

4.11'Me' is glossed by what the speaker is doing.───→here4.13───→4.25'Divine' just means the Lord, named indirectly.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awaybetween

4.11However they come, I meet them so.───→here4.13───→7.16Four kinds of seekers, all good-hearted.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.───→here4.13───→4.39Faith earns knowing; work readies that faith.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugebetween

4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.───→here4.13───→9.29Even to all — yet near to those who turn.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homeapproach

───→here4.13───→6.47Be a devotee: that is the meaning.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here4.13───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineapproach

───→here4.13───→5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimstation

───→here4.13───→

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipstation

───→here4.13───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

2.69Wisdom rises; ignorance fades like dawn-darkness.───→here4.13───→4.18See not-doing in doing, doing in not-doing.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it werebetween

4.9My birth and acts are not of this world.───→here4.13───→7.14Divine illusion is hard to cross alone.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldbetween

3.25The wise act as the unwise, but unattached.───→here4.13───→4.18The post-knowledge actor does no action at all.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)between

2.47Hold no mine-ness on body or on fruit.───→here4.13───→4.23Clinging to anything is what binds you.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

2.55Each path names its sage in its own words.───→here4.13───→4.23Action's flagship verse: it dissolves itself.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here4.13───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartapproach

───→here4.13───→6.30See Me everywhere, I am never lost.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

3.20Janaka, lokasangraha───→here4.13───→4.18Action in inaction

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

2.22Worn-out garments───→here4.13───→4.16Even the wise are confused

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologybetween

4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I───→here4.13───→7.21'Yo yo yam yam tanum bhaktah shraddhayarchitum ichchhati.' Whatever form the dev

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

4.8'Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam, dharma-samsthapana-arthaya sambh───→here4.13───→9.27Dharma-as-offering pillar. 'Yat karoshi yad ashnasi yaj juhoshi dadasi yat.' Gau

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

3.30Surrender every act.───→here4.13───→4.24Brahman the offering, Brahman the offerer.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerbetween

4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.───→here4.13───→7.14Māyā is real wonder, not unreality.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyabetween

4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.───→here4.13───→7.14Surrender alone crosses the māyā.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlybetween

4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.───→here4.13───→9.4The Lord pervades all, yet stays untouched.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

4.1Four-verse prelude names avatāra-līlā.───→here4.13───→5.1Single-verse prelude sets sannyāsa-yoga eka.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractbetween

4.8A mother chastising her child is no cruelty.───→here4.13───→7.1The play-Person of every form opens chapter 7.

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourapproach · v2

───→here4.13───→6.10Solitary seat

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here4.13───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)approach

───→here4.13───→5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryapproach

───→here4.13───→6.47Six chapters of aphorism close at this verse.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here4.13───→

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here4.13───→

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

4.1Three blocks named at the chapter head.───→here4.13───→6.1Karma-yoga is outer; samādhi-yoga inner.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

4.11Mām is Viṣṇu, not generic absolute.───→here4.13───→7.5Higher prakṛti is Śrī, not the eight-fold.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitbetween

4.11Fruit proportional to the service offered.───→here4.13───→7.21Other deities give what Viṣṇu permits.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departurestation

───→here4.13───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

3.3Vaidika action sorted by life-stage rule.───→here4.13───→4.18Action-in-inaction needs the typology.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

3.4No mokṣa from mere non-starting.───→here4.13───→4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionbetween

4.11'Yathā' is open; the verb is the gate.───→here4.13───→9.22Yoga-kṣemam: the Lord's work, not the seeker's caste.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

3.30Karma offered to the indweller becomes worship.───→here4.13───→4.33Knowledge-rite outranks mere material rites.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionapproach

───→here4.13───→4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

3.1The grand architecture cannot mix the two.───→here4.13───→4.34Approach a knower; knowing is not earned by action.

Śabda · lemmas (13 unique · 14 occurrences)

तस्य tad — that (distal demonstrative); also 3rd-person pronoun · genitive neuter singular noun
कर्म karman — action, deed, the law of action · compound
कर्तारम् kartṛ — doer, agent (from √kṛ) · accusative masculine singular noun
अकर्तारम् akartṛ — non-doer (a- + kartṛ 'doer' from √kṛ) · accusative masculine singular noun · also at 4.14
अव्ययम् avyaya — imperishable (a- + vyaya 'perishable', from vi-√i 'go away') · accusative masculine singular noun · also at 2.21, 4.1, 4.2, 4.14, 7.13, 7.25 +8

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मया·माम् mad ×2 — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · instrumental singular noun / accusative singular noun
चातुर् cātur — fourfold (from catur) · compound
वर्ण्यम् varṇya — to be classed, of a varṇa (from varṇa) · nominative neuter singular noun
सृष्टम् √sṛj — to release, create, emit (verbal root) · nominative neuter singular participle noun
गुण guṇa — quality, attribute (esp. the three guṇas: sattva/rajas/tamas) · compound
विभागशः vibhāgaśaḥ — by division, separately (vibhāga + -śas)
अपि api — also, even, although
विद्धि √vid — to know; to find (verbal root) · present imperative 2nd person singular verb · also at 2.17, 3.15, 3.32, 4.14, 4.32, 4.34 +16

Praśna · so what (7)

01If the guṇa-karma mapping is Kṛṣṇa's own design, does an individual's guṇa-composition determine varṇa at birth, or is varṇa re-assignable as guṇas shift through sādhana — and which schools permit re-assignment?
02The akartā claim appears in a verse where Kṛṣṇa explicitly says 'I created' — how do the schools prevent the akartā from collapsing into simple denial of what the first half just asserted?

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03Śaṅkara's māyā-saṃvyavahāra and Madhva's vailakṣaṇya both resolve the paradox but by incompatible means — what is the minimal empirical or scriptural test that would distinguish them?
04Rāmānuja extends sṛṣṭam to cover the full sṛṣṭi-sthiti-saṃhāra cycle. Does that reading require reinterpreting every other creation-verse in the Gītā the same way, or is 4.13 a special case?
05Vallabha invokes Brahma-sūtra 2.1.34 (vaiṣamya-nairghṛṇye na) — if karma-bīja dissolves the cruelty objection, what created the original karma differential before any action had been performed?
06Madhusūdana's synthesis declares Kṛṣṇa akṣīṇa-mahiman (greatness undiminished) as the payoff of nirahankāra. Does this make Kṛṣṇa's greatness dependent on His non-doership, or is the logical order reversed?
07All six schools agree guṇa precedes karma in the verse's compound (guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ). Does guṇa here refer to the inherited prakriti-constitution of the jīva or to cultivated character — and does the answer change who bears moral responsibility for varṇa placement?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you observe that your personality tendencies (tamas toward inertia, rajas toward ambition) drive your habitual actions, recognize them as the vyāvahārika machinery of guṇa — useful to work with, but not 'you' in paramārtha. Practice assigning the doership of every day's decisions to the guṇas operating through you, then step back as the witnessing awareness (sākṣin) that is, like Kṛṣṇa, avyaya.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Every role you occupy — manager, parent, student — is a node in Bhagavān's continuously sustained order (sṛṣṭi-sthiti), not a self-chosen identity. Perform each role's duties as kainkarya (service to the antarātman who sustains the whole); when the role ends, release it as Bhagavān releases a withdrawn universe — fully, without residue.

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Dvaita

Acknowledge that your capacity to act at all is borrowed from Hari (jīva eternally dependent). When you succeed, route the credit explicitly to Him (nāma-saṃkīrtana after achievement); when you fail, examine which tamasic or rajasic pull caused you to act from your own separate will rather than aligning with His will. The practice is daily accountability to the source.

Śuddhādvaita

Notice the guṇa-mix you woke up with this morning — dull and heavy (tamas), restless and driven (rajas), or clear and light (sattva). Kṛṣṇa gave you those faculties 'mātārtham' (for your sustenance) and 'bhavārtham' (for your becoming); He is not responsible for what you do with them. The practice: before any significant action, identify which guṇa is driving it and whether that aligns with prasāda or with bīja-karma pulling you downward.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's phalataḥ akartā means Kṛṣṇa does not hunger for the results of His own cosmic activity. Imitate this by completing today's prescribed work (svadharma as your guṇa-indicated role) without checking obsessively whether it 'worked.' Āsakti-rāhitya is not passivity — it is finishing the act cleanly and returning attention to the Beloved rather than to the scoreboard.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's synthesis points to a daily integration: hold 'I am not ultimately the doer' (Advaita) at the same moment as 'Kṛṣṇa's greatness is undiminished through my every action' (bhakti). In concrete terms: before each task, whisper the acknowledgment that your guṇa-body is Kṛṣṇa's instrument, perform with full engagement, then close with gratitude that His mahiman is expressed rather than diminished by the work — no fatigue, no depletion, akṣīṇa-mahiman.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 4, Verse 13: Krishna to Arjuna — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga