Shankaracharya's commentary, trans. Alladi Mahadeva Sastry (1897)
[1]The four castes were created by Me, with the division of quality and action. Though I am the creator thereof, know Me as the non-doer and imperishable.
BG 4.13
चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः । तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ॥
cātur-varṇyaṃ mayā sṛṣṭaṃ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ | tasya kartāram api māṃ viddhy akartāram avyayam ||
"Four varnas arise by guna and karma — not by birth. Though creator, I remain the non-doer, imperishable."
All public-domain translations
5 translations · all pre-1928 or released to public domain · sources
Swami Swarupananda, Srimad Bhagavad Gita (1909)
[4]The four castes were created by Me by the division of quality and action. Though I am the creator thereof, know Me to be the non-doer and immutable.
William Quan Judge, The Bhagavad Gita (1890)
[6]The four divisions of society were created by me, with different qualities and duties; I, the maker of them, am imperishable and not the actor.
Sir Edwin Arnold, The Song Celestial (1885)
[7]The four-fold order of mankind I made With rank for each by doing and by kind; Though I am Author, know Me deathless, not the Author.
K.T. Telang, Sacred Books of the East Vol. 8 (1882)
[9]The fourfold order of society was created by me, by distinction of quality and action. Though I am its creator, know me to be the non-doer and imperishable.