In plain words
The Karmas of brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras, scorcher of foes, are distinguished according to the guṇas arising from Svabhāva.
Word for word
The duties of brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas, and of śūdras, O scorcher of foes, are divided by the guṇas arising from svabhāva.
ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परन्तपकर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि स्वभावप्रभवैर्गुणैः
Other commentaries
The commentators
▸Bhagavadgītābhāṣyam
सर्वः संसारः क्रियाकारकफललक्षणः सत्त्वरजस्तमोगुणात्मकः अविद्यापरिकल्पितः समूलः अनर्थः उक्तः, वृक्षरूपकल्पनया च ‘ऊर्ध्वमूलम्’(भ. गी. १५ । १) इत्यादिना,तं च ‘असङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन च्छित्त्वा' 'ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यम्’(भ. गी. १५ । ३) , इति च उक्तम् । तत्र च सर्वस्य त्रिगुणात्मकत्वात् संसारकारणनिवृत्त्यनुपपत्तौ प्राप्तायाम् , यथा तन्निवृत्तिः स्यात् तथा वक्तव्यम् , सर्वश्च गीताशास्त्रार्थः उपसंहर्तव्यः, एतावानेव च सर्ववेदस्मृत्यर्थः पुरुषार्थम् इच्छद्भिः अनुष्ठेयः इत्येवमर्थम् ‘ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशाम्’ इत्यादिः आरभ्यते —
ब्राह्मणाश्च क्षत्रियाश्च विशश्च ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशः, तेषां ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च — शूद्राणाम् असमासकरणम् एकजातित्वे सति वेदानधिकारात् — हे परन्तप, कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि इतरेतरविभागेन व्यवस्थापितानि । केन ? स्वभावप्रभवैः गुणैः, स्वभावः ईश्वरस्य प्रकृतिः त्रिगुणात्मिका माया सा प्रभवः येषां गुणानां ते स्वभावप्रभवाः, तैः, शमादीनि कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि ब्राह्मणादीनाम् । अथवा ब्राह्मणस्वभावस्य सत्त्वगुणः प्रभवः कारणम् , तथा क्षत्रियस्वभावस्य सत्त्वोपसर्जनं रजः प्रभवः, वैश्यस्वभावस्य तमउपसर्जनं रजः प्रभवः, शूद्रस्वभावस्य रजउपसर्जनं तमः प्रभवः, प्रशान्त्यैश्वर्येहामूढतास्वभावदर्शनात् चतुर्णाम् । अथवा, जन्मान्तरकृतसंस्कारः प्राणिनां वर्तमानजन्मनि स्वकार्याभिमुखत्वेन अभिव्यक्तः स्वभावः, सः प्रभवो येषां गुणानां ते स्वभावप्रभवाः गुणाः ; गुणप्रादुर्भावस्य निष्कारणत्वानुपपत्तेः । ‘स्वभावः कारणम्’ इति च कारणविशेषोपादानम् । एवं स्वभावप्रभवैः प्रकृतिभवैः सत्त्वरजस्तमोभिः गुणैः स्वकार्यानुरूपेण शमादीनि कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि ॥
ननु शास्त्रप्रविभक्तानि शास्त्रेण विहितानि ब्राह्मणादीनां शमादीनि कर्माणि ; कथम् उच्यते सत्त्वादिगुणप्रविभक्तानि इति ? नैष दोषः ; शास्त्रेणापि ब्राह्मणादीनां सत्त्वादिगुणविशेषापेक्षयैव शमादीनि कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि, न गुणानपेक्षया, इति शास्त्रप्रविभक्तान्यपि कर्माणि गुणप्रविभक्तानि इति उच्यते ॥ ४१ ॥
In plain words
All of saṃsāra — this whole tangle of action, actor, and result, woven from the three strands of sattva, rajas, and tamas, spun up by nothing but ignorance from root to branch — has already been called a disaster. Chapter fifteen pictured it as a tree growing upside down, its root above, and told us to cut it down with the firm axe of non-attachment and then go searching for that further place. But a real difficulty appears here: if everything, without exception, is made of the three guṇas, how can the very cause of saṃsāra ever come to an end? That has to be explained. And the entire teaching of the Gītā has to be gathered up and brought home — because this, and nothing more, is the whole purport of every Veda and every Smṛti, meant to be lived out by anyone who wants the true goal of a human life. It is for exactly this reason that the verse beginning 'of brahmins, kshatriyas, and vaishyas' now begins —
Brahmins, kshatriyas, and vaishyas — that gives the compound 'brahmin-kshatriya-vaishya'. Add the shudras and you have all four; shudras simply stand outside that compound, not because they're any less human — they share the very same humanity as everyone else — but because they have no access to Vedic study. 'O Parantapa,' Krishna says, their duties are distributed, fixed in place, each one set off from the others. By what? By the qualities born of their own inner nature — and 'own nature' here means Īśvara's own creative power, the māyā woven of the three guṇas; whatever qualities spring from that are called 'born of one's own nature.' Through those qualities the duties of tranquility and the rest are apportioned among brahmins and the others. Or, put another way: sattva is the source of a brahmin's nature; rajas, with sattva running underneath, is the source of a kshatriya's; rajas, with tamas underneath, is the source of a vaishya's; tamas, with rajas underneath, is the source of a shudra's — you can simply see it, in the calm of the one, the command of the next, the drive of the third, the dullness of the fourth. Or go deeper still: it is an imprint carried over from a previous birth, now showing up in this life as a pull toward one's own particular work — that pull is what 'own nature' really means, and it is the source of these same qualities, because a quality cannot just appear from nowhere; it needs a cause. That is exactly what 'own nature is the cause' points to — this very kind of cause. So it is by these qualities — born of nature, born of prakṛti: sattva, rajas, and tamas — each matched to its own proper task, that the duties of tranquility and the rest come to be distributed.
But wait — someone might object: these duties, tranquility and the rest, belonging to brahmins and the others, are 'distributed by scripture', prescribed by scripture. So how can it also be said they're 'distributed by the guṇas — by sattva and the rest'? There is no real problem here. Even scripture itself distributes these duties only by looking at each person's particular guṇas — never apart from them. So it is perfectly right to say both things at once: these duties are distributed by scripture, and, in that very same breath, distributed by the guṇas.
Close to the Sanskrit
The whole of saṃsāra — characterized by action, agent, and fruit; consisting of the three guṇas sattva, rajas, and tamas; constructed by ignorance, root and all — has been declared to be an evil; and, by the figure of a tree, as in 'having its root above' (Bh. Gī. 15.1) and so on — and it has also been said, 'having cut it with the firm weapon of non-attachment', 'thereafter that state must be sought' (Bh. Gī. 15.3). And there, since everything consists of the three guṇas, when the difficulty arises that the cessation of the cause of saṃsāra seems impossible, it must be explained how its cessation could occur; and the entire meaning of the Gītā scripture must be brought to its conclusion; and this alone is the whole purport of all the Vedas and Smṛtis, to be practiced by those who desire the goal of human life — for this very purpose the verse beginning 'of brahmins, kshatriyas, and vaishyas' is begun —
Brahmins and kshatriyas and vaishyas — brāhmaṇa-kṣatriya-viś; of them, of brahmins-kshatriyas-vaishyas, and of shudras — the non-forming of shudras into the compound is because of disqualification from the Veda, even though the state of belonging to a single species holds — O Parantapa, the duties are distributed, fixed, through mutual division. By what? By the qualities born of one's own nature: 'own-nature' means the prakṛti of Īśvara, the three-guṇa māyā; that is the source of which guṇas, those are 'born of one's own nature'; by those, the duties beginning with tranquility are distributed among brahmins and the rest. Or alternatively: of the brahmin's nature, the quality sattva is the source, the cause; likewise, of the kshatriya's nature, rajas with sattva subordinate is the source; of the vaishya's nature, rajas with tamas subordinate is the source; of the shudra's nature, tamas with rajas subordinate is the source — because one observes the natural traits of tranquility, lordliness, worldly striving, and dullness in the four. Or, alternatively: the impression made in a former birth, manifested in beings' present birth as an inclination toward their own work, is 'own-nature'; that is the source of which guṇas, those are 'born of one's own nature', the guṇas; because it is untenable that the manifestation of guṇas should be without a cause. And 'own-nature is the cause' thereby denotes this particular kind of cause. Thus, by the qualities born of one's own nature, born of prakṛti, namely sattva, rajas, and tamas, in accordance with each one's own proper function, the duties beginning with tranquility are distributed.
Objection: The duties beginning with tranquility of brahmins and the rest are 'distributed by scripture', prescribed by scripture; how then is it said, 'distributed by the guṇas beginning with sattva'? This is not a fault; even by scripture, the duties beginning with tranquility of brahmins and the rest are distributed precisely in dependence on the particular guṇas beginning with sattva, not independent of the guṇas — therefore, even though the duties are distributed by scripture, it is said that the duties are distributed by the guṇas.