Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
द्विपादबहुपादानि तिर्यग्गतिमतीनि च
dvipāda-bahupādāni tiryag-gatimātīni ca
द्विपादबहुपादानि तिर्यग्गतिमतीनि च।
वायुदेव उवाच
The line points to the diversity of embodied life—bipeds, many-footed creatures, and those characterized by ‘tiryak’ (horizontal/animal) movement—inviting reflection on the shared condition of living beings and the ethical responsibility to recognize life in varied forms.
Vāyudeva is speaking and, in the course of his discourse, enumerates categories of creatures by their mode of locomotion—two-footed, many-footed, and ‘tiryag’-moving beings—setting up a broader point about the range of living beings under discussion.