Shloka 18
Vāraṇāvata-prasaṃsā and the Pāṇḍavas’ Departure (वरणावत-प्रशंसा तथा पाण्डव-प्रयाणम्)
ततस्ते यत्नमातिष्ठन् वीटामुद्धर्तुमादृता: । नच ते प्रत्यपद्यन्त कर्म वीटोपलब्धये,तब वे उस बीटाको निकालनेके लिये बड़ी तत्परताके साथ प्रयत्नमें लग गये; परंतु उसे प्राप्त करनेका कोई भी उपाय उनके ध्यानमें नहीं आया
tataste yatnam ātiṣṭhan vīṭām uddhartum ādṛtāḥ | na ca te pratyapadyanta karma vīṭopalabdhaye ||
Then they earnestly set themselves to the task, striving with great diligence to extract the vīṭā. Yet no effective course of action occurred to them by which that vīṭā could be obtained.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that effort alone is insufficient; success also depends on discovering the right method (karma/upāya). When the means are unclear, even sincere diligence may not yield the desired result.
A group of people, described collectively as 'they', become intent on extracting an object called the vīṭā. They try hard, but cannot figure out any workable procedure to obtain it.