Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 25: Kaurava Deliberation and the Search Directive (अन्वेषण-आदेशः)
नच विद्यो गता येन पार्था: सुदृढविक्रमा: । मार्गमाणा: पदन्यासं तेषु तेषु तथा तथा
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: na ca vidyo gatā yena pārthāḥ sudṛḍha-vikramāḥ | mārgamāṇāḥ pada-nyāsaṃ teṣu teṣu tathā tathā ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Kami tetap tidak dapat mengetahui lewat jalan mana para Pārtha yang tak tergoyahkan keberaniannya itu pergi. Walau kami berulang kali mencari jejak langkah mereka di berbagai tempat, rute mereka tetap tak tersingkap.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Even sustained effort and careful observation may fail when circumstances are obscured; the verse highlights human limitation before uncertainty, while still valuing perseverance in seeking truth.
The narrator reports that the searchers repeatedly look for the Pāṇḍavas’ tracks in various places, but cannot determine which path the valorous brothers took.