5.28 Always free Krishna speaks

यतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिर्मुनिर्मोक्षपरायणः
विगतेच्छाभयक्रोधो यः सदा मुक्त एव सः

yatendriya-mano-buddhir munir mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ

senses, mind and understanding restrained, intent on release, free of longing, fear and anger — such a sage is always free.

Explanation

Always free — present tense, again.

Senses, mind and understanding restrained; longing, fear and anger gone; intent on release. Such a sage is free, not will be.

Fear sits oddly in that list of three and is the one worth noticing. Desire and anger are the pair the chapter has been naming all along; adding fear points straight back at chapter 1.

Word by word

yata: controlled
indriya: senses
manaḥ: mind
buddhiḥ: intelligence
muniḥ: the transcendentalist
mokṣa: liberation
parāyaṇaḥ: being so destined
vigata: discarded
icchā: wishes
bhaya: fear
krodhaḥ: anger
yaḥ: one who
sadā: always
muktaḥ: liberated
eva: certainly
saḥ: he is