Ṛṣabhadeva, He was emperor, He was kṣatriya, so His sons naturally we should consider as kṣatriyas. But how some of them became brāhmins and some of them became yogīs and some of them became brāhmins? That is the regulative principle, according to śāstra. Not by birth one is kṣatriya or one is brāhmin or one is śūdra, but by qualities. Just like some of the respectable gentlemen who are sitting here, so some of you are lawyers, some of you are judges. So it is by qualification. Not that because your father was a lawyer, therefore you have become a lawyer, or because your father was a judge, therefore you have become a judge. No. It is the qualification. Similarly, Bhagavad-gītā also states:
- cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ
- guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
- (BG 4.13)
Guṇa and karma: qualities and actual work. One must have passed his examination in law, and he must be practicing; then he is called a lawyer or a judge. Not that because he has passed, that because he has gone to the law office. He must practice also. Similarly, the brahminical qualities one should acquire, and he must practice in life as a brāhmin. The kṣatriya also must acquire the qualities, and he must act according to kṣatriya regulative principles. Similarly, vaiśya, a śūdra.
These are stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. The brahminical qualifications are stated there. The kṣatriya qualifications are stated there. The vaiśya qualifications are stated there. The śūdra qualification is stated there. And in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you will find Nārada Muni says to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira that yasya hi yad . . . yasya hi yad lakṣaṇaṁ syād varṇābhivyañjakam (SB 7.11.35). Varṇa, this classification of social order, brāhmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra, and less than that, that is accepted by the symptoms, lakṣaṇa, characteristics, not by birth.