Shloka 6
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 25: Kaurava Deliberation and the Search Directive (अन्वेषण-आदेशः)
संविधाय यथादृष्टं यथादेशप्रदर्शनम् । कृतकृत्या न्यवर्तन्त ते चरा नगरं प्रति
saṃvidhāya yathādṛṣṭaṃ yathādeśapradarśanam | kṛtakṛtyā nyavartanta te carā nagaraṃ prati ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Having carried out their assignment exactly as they had observed and as their instructions required—reporting what was seen and what could be ascertained—the spies, their task completed, turned back toward the city and returned to Hastināpura to report.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined execution of assigned duty and accurate reporting—an aspect of rājadharma (statecraft). Ethically, it also points to the tension between legitimate governance tools (intelligence gathering) and their use for hostile ends in a fraternal conflict.
Duryodhana’s roaming spies, deployed across various regions to locate the Pāṇḍavas during their incognito period, complete their searches and return toward the capital (Hastināpura) to report what they could observe or ascertain.