Text 13

catur-varnyam maya srstam
guna-karma-vibhagasah
tasya kartaram api mam
viddhy akartaram 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. 

Commentary by Srila Prabhupada 

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 brahmanas due to their being situated in the mode of goodness. Next is the administrative class, technically called the kshatriyas due to their being situated in the mode of passion. The mercantile men, called the vaishyas, are situated in the mixed modes of passion and ignorance, and the shudras, or laborer class, are situated in the ignorant mode of material nature. In spite of His creating the four divisions of human society, Lord Krishna 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 Krishna 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 Krishna consciousness, however, is above even the brahmanas. Although brahmanas by quality are supposed to know about Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth, most of them approach only the impersonal Brahman manifestation of Lord Krishna. But a man who transcends the limited knowledge of a brahmana and reaches the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, becomes a person in Krishna consciousness—or, in other words, a Vaishnava. Krishna consciousness includes knowledge of all different plenary expansions of Krishna, namely Rama, Nrisimha, Varaha, etc. And as Krishna is transcendental to this system of the four divisions of human society, a person in Krishna consciousness is also transcendental to all divisions of human society, whether we consider the divisions of community, nation or species.

Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

"Indeed, the paths of bhakti and jnana 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 varnas for people who want their own enjoyment." The suffix ya in the word catur varna indicates self-interest in the four orders.

The brahmanas, predominated by sattva, perform activities such controlling the senses and mind. The ksatriyas, who are predominated by raja and sattva, perform actions such as warfare and acts of heroism. The vaiysas, predominately tama and raja, do farming and raise cows. The sudras, predominated by tamas, serve others. I have created this system of four varnas divided according to guna and activity, taking shelter of the path of dharma. Know me as the creator (kartaram) of the system, since it is created from the gunas of prakrti which is my energy. In that way I am the creator, but actually I am not the creator, since my svarapa is beyond the gunas and prakrti. Therefore, I am said to be indestructible (avyayam). I am not at all similar to the varnas or matter, though I have created it.