Sanskrit
यतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिर्मुनिर्मोक्षपरायणः । विगतेच्छाभयक्रोधो यः सदा मुक्त एव सः ॥
yatendriyamanobuddhir munir mokṣaparāyaṇaḥ vigatecchābhayakrodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ
Translation
With senses, mind, and Reason ever controlled, solely pursuing liberation, the Sage, having for ever cast away desire, fear and passion, verily is liberated.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
This verse completes the previous one’s meditation posture with an inner counterpart: senses, mind, and intellect restrained together — a triad the chapter has used before, in verse 11 — with the muni singularly oriented toward mokṣa. The specific triad worth noting is desire, fear, and anger, all named as jointly departed; fear’s arrival alongside the chapter’s more familiar pairing of desire and anger suggests it’s being treated as their natural byproduct, the anxiety of a mind still invested in outcomes, whether wanted or feared. The closing claim — verily, he is ever liberated — is stated in the present tense, not held out as a future reward. Sadā mukta eva — “already, always free” — makes liberation a present fact for the person whose faculties are gathered and whose icchā-bhaya-krodha have left, not a posthumous settlement. Fear is grouped with desire and anger as the same investment seen from its anxious side.
Study deeper
Word by word
- yatendriyamanobuddhirयतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिः
- senses, mind, and intellect controlled (yata-indriya-manaḥ-buddhiḥ)
- munirमुनिः
- the sage
- mokṣaparāyaṇaḥमोक्षपरायणः
- intent on liberation (mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ)
- vigatecchābhayakrodhoविगतेच्छाभयक्रोधो
- free of desire, fear, and anger (vigata-icchā-bhaya-krodhaḥ)
- yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥयः सदा मुक्त एव सः
- he is ever liberated indeed (yaḥ + sadā + muktaḥ + eva + saḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Read alongside verse 27, this verse completes a deliberate sequence: the previous verse addresses the outer, physical apparatus — gaze, breath — and this one turns to the inner instruments, senses, mind, intellect. The order isn’t arbitrary; the body is stabilized first, and only then does the text turn to the harder work of stabilizing what’s happening inside it, treating physical readiness as necessary staging ground rather than an optional preliminary.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you're trying to steady your mind for something difficult — a hard conversation, a big decision — don't skip straight to managing your thoughts; settle your body and breath first, the way this pair of verses stabilizes the outer apparatus before addressing the inner one.
Professional
- Before a high-stakes meeting or presentation, treat physical readiness — posture, breath, a calm environment — as real preparation, not a preliminary to skip past on the way to mental preparation; getting the outer conditions right first tends to make the inner work easier.
Family & Social
- Before a hard conversation with someone you love, take a moment to physically settle yourself — breath, posture, a beat of quiet — before trying to manage what you'll say; steadying the body first often makes steadying the mind considerably easier.
Ask yourself
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