Shloka 37
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
Devanagari script
द्विपादबहुपादानि तिर्यग्गतिमतीनि च
Transliteration
dvipāda-bahupādāni tiryag-gatimātīni ca
Translation
风神伐由说道：“（其中有）二足者、多足者，亦有横行而动、具畜生之行者。”
Word by Word
द्विपादबहुपादानिtwo-footed and many-footed (beings)
द्विपादबहुपादानि:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootद्विपादबहुपाद (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural
तिर्यग्गतिमतीनिhaving a horizontal/animal mode of movement; moving as animals
तिर्यग्गतिमतीनि:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootतिर्यग्गतिमत् (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
Speaker
वायुदेव उवाच
Characters & Entities
व
वायुदेव (Vāyudeva)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
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.