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Chapter 4 · Transcendental Knowledge · 42 verses

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Duty & actionChapter 4 · Transcendental Knowledge
4.124.14

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 4.13

Action without fruitive bondage

चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः ।

तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ॥ १३ ॥

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ

guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ

tasya kartāram api māṁ

viddhy akartāram avyayam

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.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Kṛṣṇa Creates the Social Divisions

  1. 1Kṛṣṇa creates society’s four divisions according to the modes of material nature and related work. Yet He remains unchanging, the nondoer.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that these divisions help people develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa Himself is not bound by any division.
  3. 3Develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which raises a person above all divisions of human society.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 4, Transcendental Knowledge: action without fruitive bondage.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Act dutifully without attachment to fruits.

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Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: karma, sva-dharma.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 4.13 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to duty & action?

Practice

Do one task today purely because it is right.

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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 4.12Action without fruitive bondageBG 4.14Action without fruitive bondageBG 2.47Responsibility without ownership of outcomesBG 3.21Leadership by example

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.